Posted on 08/05/2013 3:49:46 AM PDT by OddLane
“I feel sick. I think I’m going to throw up,” a prominent Saudi academic told me yesterday. “I was waiting for something like this to happen but I didn’t think it would be Raif. I’m thinking of his wife and kids. I really feel sick.”
On July 29, Raif Badawi, founder of the Free Saudi Liberals website, was sentenced to 600 lashes and seven years in prison. His crime? Insulting Islam, speaking ill of Saudi Arabia’s religious police and, most puzzling of all, “parental disobedience.”
Badawi is a 30-year-old man. Can an adult be imprisoned for disobeying his father? In Saudi Arabia, where all citizens are treated as children, the answer to that question is “yes.” The Saudi dictatorship doesn’t trust its citizens to speak their mind, and so impose paternalistic and draconian laws to keep in check those who might think differently.
Women in particular are infantilized, and their ability to move around, unaccompanied by a male guardian, is severely restricted. Women are banned from driving. They cannot go to coffee shops or restaurants with a male friend. And according to Saudi law, a woman cannot decide for herself to go on religious pilgrimage. She must have a man’s approval and be accompanied by her guardian.
Saudi Arabia is considered a close U.S. ally. Yet every few weeks a case like Badawi’s reminds us that despite a massive PR effort, the Kingdom remains a vicious tyranny that will lock you away for speaking openly about politics or religion.
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
ANY state which would punish or incarcerate someone because of speech is evil.
They’re moslem, of course they are evil.
All moslems are terrorists, their religion commands it.
He won’t survive the lashes.
Of course not. In reality this is a death sentence.
600 lashes is a death sentence
Islam is not a civilized religion, nor does it tolerate any sort of freedom. It is tailor made for brutal dictators, even those that call themselves kings.
“I am barak obama and I approved this sentence.”
Nice too see some liberal paying attention to this stuff.
Nothing good can ever come from islam. It was founded by a drunken, child-molesting, murderous liar and it continues as a mass of lies and deception. It’s been called Satan’s sermon and as such, it is a slander on Satan.
Going by earlier stories of this type, the lashes are meted out in weekly or monthly installments, so as not to kill the victim. Chances are, after the first couple of rounds he’ll wish he were dead.
Maybe Barack Hussein Obama will intervene on his behalf. (sarc)
“Islam is not a civilized religion, nor does it tolerate any sort of freedom. It is tailor made for brutal dictators, even those that call themselves kings.”
Have we learned anything from Mubarak?
Have we learned anything from Mubarak?
I would add Gadaffi (don’t bug me about the spelling; Rush couldn’t even figure out how to spell his name). Any peaceful dictator in the middle east or north Africa is one we want to keep - even if they aren’t overtly friendly to us. As long as they stay in their borders and no longer support terrorists....
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