Samar Badawi released from Saudi detention
January 13, 2016
Samar Badawi's release on Wednesday came just a day after she was reportedly arrested and interrogated by Saudi officials. She was accused of handling the Twitter account of Waleed Abu al-Khair, her ex-husband, and campaigning for his release.
Waleed Abu al-Khair, who is a human rights lawyer and head of the Saudi Arabia Monitor of Human Rights, is currently serving a 15-year sentence for charges related to defending Raif Badawi, who is currently serving a 10-year sentence for insulting the religion of Islam.
Samar Badawi is Raif Badawi's sister. She was detained in the same prison as her brother.
In addition to Raif Badawi's 10 year prison sentence, he was also subject to 1,000 lashes. His first set of 50 lashes came in January 2015, but was suspended on grounds of health concerns and amid a global outcry for his release.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Amnesty International called Samar Badawi's arrest "the latest example of Saudi Arabia's utter contempt for its human rights obligations and provides further damning proof of the authorities' intent to suppress all signs of peaceful dissent."