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Brief aan de Hoge Vertegenwoordiger over de Saudische blogger Raif Badawi

Op 21 januari 2015 schreven 105 Europarlementsleden een brief aan Frederica Mogherini, de Hoge Vertegenwoordiger van de EU voor buitenland en veiligheidsbeleid, betreffende de zaak van de Saudische blogger Raif Badawi. De brief kan je hieronder terugvinden en dit is haar antwoord.


Dear Madam High Representative,
Dear Federica Mogherini,

As you are no doubt aware, a tragic and barbaric abuse of human rights is currently taking place in Saudi Arabia supported by the judicial system. The writer and blogger Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and 1000 lashes for starting a website and expressing his critical views of religious authorities.

As of this writing Raif Badawi has already been publicly flogged once, specifically on the 9th of January when 50 lashes were administered. A further 50 lashes were scheduled for Friday the 16th of January. These were however suspended following a medical examination which found that Mr Badawi was physically unable to sustain further abuse.

Mr Badawi therefore still faces the gruelling prospect of a further 950 lashes. Those will be applied when his doctors may deem that his wounds are sufficiently healed to allow his body to endure further torture.

A formal Written Question to the High Representative has already been lodged. However, owing to the urgent nature of Mr Badawi's desperate case we, the undersigned Members of the European Parliament have deemed it necessary to write directly to you and to ask you to take immediate action on behalf of the European Union and its member states.

We therefore ask you to;

• Condemn, in the strongest possible terms, the treatment of Raif Badawi

• Ask the Saudi Arabian authorities that the remaining sentence be immediately suspended and ultimately revoked

• State the actions that you, the EEAS and the Commission in general have taken or are going to take regarding this case

Kind regards,

Bart Staes and 105 MEP's

GroenDe enige partij die sociaal én milieuvriendelijk is.

www.groen.be

De Groenen/EVAGroenen en Europese Vrije Alliantie in het Europees Parlement.

www.greens-efa.eu

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