PJ MEDIA
by Bridget Johnson
July 7, 2015

His book, 1,000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think, is available for pre-order on Amazon. The man who recommends that you buy it is none other than Salman Rushdie: “Raif Badawi’s is an important voice for all of us to hear.” Yet the 31-year-old blogger, who ran the site Free Saudi Liberals, has been suffering “a slow death” behind bars in his native Saudi Arabia simply for exploring the themes of secularism and freedom in his writings. Badawi was arrested in 2012 for “insulting Islam through electronic channels.” He was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison, a sentence upheld last month by the Saudi supreme court. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, and their three children were granted political asylum in Canada. Fifty of the lashes were carried out in January…his poor health has led to periodic suspensions of the rest of the lashes…READ MORE