Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi on hunger strike

Imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been on a hunger strike since Tuesday after being transferred to a new, isolated prison, according to his wife, Ensaf Haidar.

Haidar, who lives in Canada where she and their three children were granted political asylum, confirmed the news by phone after tweeting it.

Colette Lelièvre, a Montreal-based campaign organiser with Amnesty International, said on Thursday the group had been told Badawi was transferred to a different prison for “administrative reasons”. Amnesty had not yet independently confirmed he had started a hunger strike.

Badawi, who created and managed an online forum, was found guilty in 2014 of breaking Saudi Arabia’s technology laws and for insulting Islam. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.

Badawi received the first 50 lashes of his sentence in January, prompting strong criticism in Western countries of the kingdom’s human rights record.

“I call on his majesty King Salman to pardon my husband,” Haidar tweeted earlier in the day. “Please unite my children with their father.”

Lelièvre said Haidar would travel to France to accept the Sakharov prize on behalf of her husband during a ceremony in Strasbourg on 16 December. The prize, awarded by the European parliament, honours freedom of thought.