Flogging of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi postponed

Saudi Arabia has postponed the public flogging of the blogger Raif Badawi on medical grounds, according to reports.

The 31-year-old was due to receive a second lot of 50 lashes after Friday prayers; the first 50 having been given outside al-Jafali mosque in the port city of Jeddah last week.

He was sentenced last May to ten years in prison, a fine and 1,000 lashes after criticising Saudi Arabia’s powerful clerics on his blog.

According to Amnesty International, which has adopted Badawi as a prisoner of conscience, the married father-of-three was removed from his jail cell on Friday morning and taken to the prison clinic for a health check.

The doctor concluded that the wounds from last week’s lashings had not yet healed properly and Badawi would be unable to withstand more. He recommended that the flogging be postponed until next week.

Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, also confirmed the postponement.

The postponement follows widespread international pressure from governments and human rights groups for the Saudi government to halt the punishment. Expressions of concern however have not led to diplomatic intervention against Saudi Arabia, which has been criticized regularly for its use of the death penalty.