The voices of the free may save the life of a brutalized blogger
The example set by the early Americans who met in Philadelphia to write a Constitution for free men continues to be a beacon to “the huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” in the words of the poet Emma Lazarus. We, the most fortunate of men and women, sometimes forget the debt everyone owes to the men who understood that all men are equal in the eyes of the Creator, and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect by their governments. The yearning for freedom to speak their minds, write what they want and circulate their opinions, burns in the hearts of men and women everywhere.
Those not privileged to have been born here or to make it to a new home here, are often much less fortunate. Raif Badawi is a Saudi Arabian blogger who founded and edits the website called Free Saudi Liberals, established to give his fellow citizens a place to express their opinions about how they are ruled, and even to discuss state-mandated Islam. Few Americans have heard of Mr. Badawi, but for this urge to speak he was arrested, tried, convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison for believing that he is entitled to express his opinions. But first he must be flogged with 600 lashes of the whip.
His conviction was overturned on appeal, but that was only part of the travesty of decency. The government doubled down, tried him again and imposed an even harsher sentence: 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, to be administered 50 at a time over a period of 20 weeks. Then he must pay a fine of a quarter of a million dollars.
Mr. Badawi received the first 50 lashes, beaten to a pulp and within an inch of his life. The government suspended further beating, not as an act of Islamic mercy, but lest he die before he could be properly punished. The civilized world was outraged, and a Princeton professor decided to try to do something about it. Robert George has been working to shine a light to shame the barbarity of the Saudi government.
Professor George is a member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom and has persuaded six of his nine fellow commissioners to sign a letter to the Saudi government, offering to take Mr. Badawi’s place and receive the remaining lashes. Katrina Lantos-Swett, chairman of the commission and president of the Lantos Foundation for Human Rights and Justice, is circulating a petition signed by another 500 persons volunteering, like Mr. George and his colleagues, to stand in for Mr. Badawi.
Shame is an unlikely persuader in the Middle East, but Mr. Badawi has not been further flogged since Ms. Lantos-Swett and Mr. George first shamed the Saudi kingdom. The Saudis have delayed the flogging and the U.S. State Department, not usually counted on to show such concern for human rights, has filed a letter of complaint on behalf of the people of the United States.
If Mr. Badawi is ultimately saved from further punishment that is nothing short of pornographic, it will be the work of more voices united in the cause. Saudi Arabia is an important ally in some ways, but the new king must drag the kingdom a few centuries forward into the present day. The new king has an opportunity to set things right, to establish his kingdom as something more refined than the Islamic State. The king should commute this sordid sentence if he wants the respect and deference of decent men everywhere.
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