--- description: He has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, to be carried out over the next 19 weeks. title: Raif Badawi: Saudi Blogger Faces Second Round of Public Flogging image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7cad7a8c0e9ddb1/69877a030b72e3eda96dd224/raif-badawi-saudi-blogger-flogging.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Saudi Arabia](/tag/saudi-arabia/) ## Saudi Arabia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Saudi Arabian Blogger Faces Second Round of Public Flogging  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Jan 15, 2015 11:29 AM CUT  Ensaf Haidar (C), the wife of the Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi, holds a vigil urging Saudi Arabia to free her husband in Montreal on Jan. 13, 2015. Ensaf Haidar (C), the wife of the Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi, holds a vigil urging Saudi Arabia to free her husband in Montreal on Jan. 13, 2015.Clement Sabourin—AFP/Getty Images  by [Naina Bajekal](/author/naina-bajekal/)  ## Naina Bajekal Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME. Jan 15, 2015 11:29 AM CUT Saudi activist Raif Badawi is [set to be flogged](http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/saudi-arabia-set-resume-flogging-raif-badawi-friday-2015-01-14 "undefined") 50 times again on Friday, after being sentenced in May 2014 to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a fine of more than $260,000 for setting up the Saudi Arabian Free Liberals Forum. The blog, which championed free speech, was shut down following his arrest in 2012 Badawi’s punishment began last week when he was lashed 50 times outside al-Jafali mosque in his home city of Jeddah after last week’s Friday prayers. The floggings attracted international attention because they followed heated debate on the topic of freedom of speech, after the _Charlie Hebdo_ killings in Paris. Canada, the U.S., Germany, Norway and other Western governments have issued statements calling for Badawi’s punishment to be dropped, although the U.K. has so far refused to publicly condemn the authorities in Riyadh. Unless a prison doctor decides Badawi’s health is too poor to continue, he will continue to be flogged every Friday for the next 19 weeks. Badawi’s wife told [_Amnesty International_](http://www.amnesty.org/en/news/saudi-arabia-set-resume-flogging-raif-badawi-friday-2015-01-14 "undefined")that she fears her husband may not be able to physically endure a further round of lashes. “International pressure is crucial,” she said. “I believe if we keep up the support it will eventually pay off. We must keep fighting.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3668758/saudi-blogger-badawi-flogging/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3668758/saudi-blogger-badawi-flogging/"},"headline":"Saudi Arabian Blogger Faces Second Round of Public Flogging","datePublished":"2015-01-15T11:29:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:35:41.026Z","description":"He has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes, to be carried out over the next 19 weeks.","url":"https://time.com/3668758/saudi-blogger-badawi-flogging/","keywords":["Saudi Arabia"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7cad7a8c0e9ddb1/69877a030b72e3eda96dd224/raif-badawi-saudi-blogger-flogging.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Naina Bajekal","jobTitle":"Bajekal was executive editor and international editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/naina-bajekal/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7cad7a8c0e9ddb1/69877a030b72e3eda96dd224/raif-badawi-saudi-blogger-flogging.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Raif Badawi Saudi Blogger Protest Vigil","caption":"Raif Badawi Saudi Blogger Protest Vigil","creditText":"Clement Sabourin—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/saudi-arabia/","name":"Saudi Arabia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3668758/saudi-blogger-badawi-flogging/","name":"Saudi Arabian Blogger Faces Second Round of Public Flogging"}}]}] ```