Pakistan - #PeshawarAttack - The Promise

Perhaps the most consistent element of Imran Khan’s leadership style is his unflinching commitment to making promises he cannot keep. The incoherency of his political narratives and allegiances aside, Khan is adept at making sweeping statements so fundamentally ill thought out, that he is practically setting himself up to be the butt of jokes in editorials around the country. Consider the most recent gem: “From now on, you will never again see any kind of protocol with me.” This, said in response to the parents’ protest outside APS Peshawar on Wednesday, is a response to the wrong kind of issue. Nobody outside the school was protesting the 32 cars in Khan’s motorcade. Grieving families had gathered in protest to show their democratic representative that he had failed to deliver to their sensitivities and concerns at a time when their plight had shaken the world. That he was conspicuous by his repeated absence in which time he had chosen to marry, a decision entirely his to make but one that invited an overwhelming and predictable media response; that he had not expressed (with his usual political rabidity, at least) his unflinching and sincere support for fighting the people responsible for the massacre of their children; and that he seemed still to be primarily occupied by the rigging that had allegedly stolen his federal mandate to rule the country. These were, one imagines, the primary points of the parents’ protest outside the school. Instead, Imran chose to focus on the perceived hit to his honest-to-God, boy-next-door simplicity: the number of cars in his motorcade.
It is impossible and impractical for politicians to travel without at least some kind of security protocol. If Khan thinks he can do it, he obviously did not consult any members of his party before speaking... again. And finally, as long as he picks the wrong issues on which to defend his integrity, it will continue to reveal the myopia that seems to be the very basis of his character. He must hold his own on the bigger questions, he must prove himself to be a leader different than the others by actually leading— and not by the number of vehicles behind him.

Pakistan - Imran's political gimmickry - Bad reception

A failure to react in timely fashion and the wrong selection of priorities caused a bad reception for Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan upon his arrival at the Army Public School (APS) Peshawar. The grief-stricken parents of the martyred children expressed massive resentment against him for not visiting them in their time of need. He came to the APS after almost one month of the deadly attack. For the last one and a half years, the PTI chief’s main priority has been a fair probe into the alleged rigging of the 2013 elections while he and his party leaders have been neglecting the serious issues of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). This skewed set of priorities has painted a bad perception of Imran in the eyes of the people of KP. Lately, his second marriage provoked further ire among the aggrieved parents, who termed him a callous leader busy in his own life and pursuing his own political agenda. They have declared his delayed visit to the APS political gimmickry. In the arena of politics, timing is everything and unfortunately, Imran has been ignoring this important factor of winning the trust of the citizens of KP. His apathy is what has caused him the latest embarrassment. He should have visited the families of the victims earlier. Even during the protest at the APS, he could have given them a patient hearing and tried to pacify them. But he avoided the protesters and his party termed them agents of rival political parties. While taking Imran and his bride to the APS from an alternate entrance, the police also misbehaved with the protesters. Even at the press conference, instead of focusing on his current visit, Imran Khan returned to his tired mantra of alleged election rigging. He also expressed his inability to understand the protests against him and declared that he was not responsible for the security of schools. He said that it was practically impossible to guard 65,000 schools in KP.

The latest developments show the political immaturity and indecisiveness of Imran. In the long run, this kind of attitude will deliver a bad blow to his image. Being the chairman of the ruling party in KP, he cannot shrug off the responsibility for any bad incident. Rather, he must work on positive lines and come up with solutions to all serious problems. He should urge the KP government to launch intelligence-led operations against the terrorists. It is now time for Imran Khan to expand his political horizons for a positive change. Instead of focusing on just one issue of a fair probe into alleged election rigging, he should take solid steps for permanent peace in KP and its development. The incident at the APS is a wake-up call for Imran that he should change his approach otherwise more bad receptions await him.

Pakistan - Shahbaz Bhatti murder case sent to military court

In a major development linked to the trial of hardcore terrorists in military courts, Islamabad Police referred the murder case of former minority affairs minister Dr Shahbaz Bhatti to a military court on Thursday.

Bhatti, a Catholic who vocally opposed the misuse of blasphemy law, had been gunned down outside his residence in Islamabad in March 2011. His killing had followed the assassination of former Punjab governor Salmaan Taseer by a religious fanatic in January 2011, for his firm stand against the misuse of blasphemy law. In the past, the All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA) had pointed out that the threats from extremists were adversely affecting the proceedings of the trial of Dr Shahbaz Bhatti murder trial.

Threatening pamphlets claiming to be from the Punjabi Taliban had been found in the office of a key witness in the case. The sectarian killing of Chaudhry Zulfiqar, the prosecutor in Benazir Bhutto’s murder case, has also been moved to the military court, along with a number of other high-profile, terror-related cases, a senior police official of Islamabad Police confirmed to Daily Times on Thursday, on the condition of anonymity. The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar had been killed in Islamabad in 2013 when he was on his way to attend court proceedings of the BB murder case. At the time, police had arrested an alleged al Qaeda activist involved in the killing. Majority of the mainstream parliamentary political parties had reached a consensus over the issue of setting up military courts for tackling terrorism cases in the country recently and 21st Amendment was passed.

PPP Punjab S Media participate in a protest against terrorism

ppppunjab.wordpress.com

The citizens of Lahore gathered at Charing Cross for a protest and a vigil on 16th January to commemorate the one-month anniversary of the barbaric attack on Peshawar Army Public School.

Pakistan Peoples party(PPP) S Media Punjab has participated in the protest and vigil headed by Ms Jahanara M Wattoo along with Junaid Qaiser, Ali Asghar Awan, Ahsan Abbas Shah, Mujtaba Wattoo, Mujtaba Subahni, Rao Azr Shujat Ali, Noreen Saleem, while Barrister Amir Hassan, spokesperson of the PPP Lahore, Asif Khan President Human Rights Punjab other representatives of Human Rights Wing, Peoples Youth Organization (PYO), and Peoples Students Federation (PSF) were also present there.

Talking to Media, Ms Jahanara M Wattoo said that there was no option except to battle terrorism in the country, and the only party standing against terrorism was the PPP with clear-cut stance.

She maintained that it was time to get united against terrorism and defeat this evil, otherwise they will continue killing our defenseless children while they learn.

The candle vigil participants were carrying banners and placards bearing inscriptions “Say No to Terrorism”, “Stay United Against Terrorism”, “Raise Your Voice Against Terrorism”, and “Dehshat Gardo Ka Jo Yar Hai Ghdar Hai Ghdar Hai”.

The participants also chanted slogans against terrorists.

Pakistan- Ex-President Zardari calls for speedy computerisation of land record

Former president Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Sindh government to expedite computerisation of the land record.

He said that by doing so not only the record of rights could be made safe but the recovery of ‘dhal’ (local farming cess) would be linked with the revenue collection system through the Sindh Bank.

“This new mechanism of recoveries would enhance the government revenue manifold.”

The Pakistan People’s Party co-chairman was presiding over a high-level meeting at the Chief Minister House the other day.

Chief Minister Qaim Ali Shah in his opening remarks said that the computerisation project in all the districts of the province was launched on the directives of Asif Ali Zardari on September 14, 2011 costing around Rs 4,997 million and would be completed by the end of June.

He explained that there are 6,000 dehs (villages) in Sindh and “we have processed data verification of 2,224 dehs and 55 percent of work in 1,237 dehs has been completed”.

Elaborating, Shah said that there are over 30 million acres of land in Sindh of which 12.539 million acres are under private ownership.

In his detailed briefing on the Land Administration & Revenue Management Information System (LARMIS), Member Board of Revenue Sindh Zulfiqar Shah said that Sindhi language software has been developed for the purposes because the entire revenue record was in Sindhi language. “The system has the biometrics (thumb impression and photo) facility.”

When it was reported that there were around 1,000 vacancies in the Information Technology (IT) section of the project, Zardari directed the Board of Revenue (BoR) concerned authorities to hire female staff for jobs as well. “I want our young sisters to come over and avail the opportunity,” he asserted.

Zulfikar Shah informed the gathering that the computerization of revenue record has different stages, such as scanning and indexing of record, data entry of scanned record, verification of entered record through concerned deputy commissioners and then storage of computerised record in data centre in Karachi.

“In case of any untoward incident the BoR has established a Disaster Recovery Centre at Hyderabad. There would be 27 service centres and it would have a website sindhzameen.gos.pk,” he added.

Giving analysis of area-wise ownership, Zulfikar said over 3.5 million people own four acres of land each; over 267,178 people own between five to 16 acres each and 105,841 people have above 16 acres each.

On this the PPP co-chairman observed: “This showed 90 per cent of the growers owned only four acre acres land each.”

On a question asked by Zardari, the BoR member explaining the inherent flaws said that in the entire land record, 29 percent shares were undivided, in 19 percent of the total area survey numbers were missing, 20 percent entries/pages of the total record were missing, five percent entries were without buyers and sellers, two percent of the entries were unattested and in one percent cases survey numbers were missing and in another one per cent duplicate entries were made in the land record.

Unsurveyed land

Giving details of deh level mapping of Karachi, Zulfiqar Shah said that there are total 900,211 acres of land in this mega city, of which 681,000 acres are unsurveyed and 641,406 acres are surveyed," he said and added that the unsurveyed land have been surveyed under the project.

Automation

Qaim Ali Shah informed Zardari that Rs 1.9 billion value Automation of Stamps and Registration project in all the districts of the province has been prepared. He said it was a two-year project and with its completion revenue would increase by manifold.

Quoting the example of Bangalore in India, where the chief minister said after implementation of a similar automation project their revenue increased doubled from Rs150 billion in 2003-4 to Rs 300 billion in 2006-7.

Zardari directed Qaim to launch the project as soon as possible.

E-stamping system

Talking about the automated registration and e-stamping system, Zulfiqar said that micro-filming of land record should be replaced with modern scanning services with the same day returning facility and assured, “This would be done by the end of this March.”

He added that micro-filmed record would be converted into digital record and it would be available online.

The meeting was informed of setting up of the People Service Centre, which would offer multiple services such as receiving excise duty and motor vehicle fee.

“In collaboration with the Sindh Bank, the land record would be made available across its over 200 branches in the country. This would develop collaboration of the people with the financial institute.” the BoR member said.

Makhdoom Amin Fahim, Sindh Senior Minister for Education Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Minister for Finance Syed Murad Ali Shah, Minister for Revenue Makhdoom Jameel Zaman, Minister for Information Sharjeel Memon, PPP leader Sherry Rehman, President Sindh Bank Bilal Shaikh, Chief Secretary Sajjad Saleem Hotiana and senior officers of the government attended the meeting.

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China - Be wary of HK self-determination advocacy

When delivering his third policy address on Wednesday, Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying slammed the advocacy of Hong Kong self-determination for the first time, which indicates that mainstream society in Hong Kong has grown vigilant to the ludicrous calls for independence.

Leung also singled out Undergrad, an official publication of Hong Kong University Students' Union. The journal published a cover story in February last year calling for Hong Kong's self-determination. In September it issued a special edition on Hong Kong democracy and independence, in which an article compares Hong Kong to Singapore and even estimates the number of conscripts and arms it can gather.

The article imagines that strife will break out and lead to independence for Hong Kong. This is the type of nonsense published in the journal.    

Chin Wan-kan, an assistant professor with Lingnan University, has been advocating independence and was ordered to report to the police on January 19 for investigation.

Both mainstream Hong Kong society and China as a whole were hesitant at first as to how to deal with these independence forces. Their pseudo-propositions initially looked like a joke and were often taken as an exaggeration of discontent that was not necessarily related to politics. Then the joke gradually gained momentum and some extremist and marginalized forces appeared to use it as a political tool.

Mainstream society has ignored these independence activists, but they still did not perish. It's not impossible that they will become one of the major problems facing Hong Kong and become a tool subject to external forces.

Independence forces are in contradiction to Hong Kong's Basic Law and are unacceptable. Both the central government and Hong Kong should figure out how to punish those who propagate talk of independence, such as barring Chin from the Chinese mainland.

Separatism usually starts with promoting nativism, then constructs political organizations to turn a few people's ideas into a trend and finally into political confrontation. The Hong Kong independence movement is in the first phase and seemed to accelerate its transition to the second phase by exploiting the divisions the independence forces caused.

There are two extreme ways of thinking. The first is to step back, which may result in opposition forces being given more rights than they should have under the Basic Law. The other is to take tough measures to combat these forces. Neither is workable.

China is powerful and the majority in Hong Kong opposes extremists. But the question lies in how to turn the majority's advantages into a realistic instrument that can suppress independence forces and meanwhile heighten the solidarity within Hong Kong and between it and the mainland. This is not a test of strength, but of political determination and wisdom.

Will terror attack close gulf between China and Europe?

The past week has seen the world's headlines dominated by the terrorist attack on theFrench satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the rally in Paris to protest against terrorismand the cover of the first issue published after the attack, which depicts the prophetMuhammad shedding a tear while holding a "Je Suis Charlie" sign.

Sensible people are outraged by the cruel terrorists which has brought European people'ssense of insecurity to the spotlight. The rally showed France's yearning for solidarity atthis critical moment. The pictures of millions of people marching together has solicited thesympathy of the world.

China condemned this act of terrorism immediately, and the Chinese media have pointedtheir fingers at the terrorists, as China itself is a victim of terrorism.

In March, a terrorist attack killed 31 civilians and injured 141 others at a railway station inKunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province. Terrorist activities have alsobeen on the rise in recent years in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, posing mountingpressure on the country's border security.

Terrorism consumes people's emotions ruthlessly. The American people suffered from itwith the September 11 attacks, the Chinese people feel threatened by it in recent years, andnow what has happened to Charlie Hebdo has shocked all of Europe.

However, Europe may have disappointed the Chinese public in offering support to China'santi-terrorism efforts in the past.

After a terror incident took place in Xinjiang's Bachu county in April 2013, some Westernmedia expressed skepticism over the nature of the incident, reflecting their biasedreporting of China. The BBC's Chinese service even interviewed Rebiya Kadeer, presidentof the World Uyghur Congress, the exiled Uyghur activist group, who unsurprisinglyblamed the Chinese government's policy on Xinjiang and highlighted the country's ethnicconflicts. The Chinese public's complex feelings toward Europe are reflected in netizens'comments that questioned the ethics of Western media which put ideology ahead of thereal threat.

Similarly, when reporting a terrorist attack in Xinjiang in November, the French elitenewspaper Le Monde practically asserted that it is only China portraying these attacks asterrorism. The media coverage not only neglects the Chinese people's need for worldsupport, but also distances Europe from the Chinese people. Despite Chinese people'sfavorable impression of Europe as the cradle of modern civilization and as a traveldestination, the favor has been soured by Europe's disrespect toward Chinese people.

It is hoped that Europe can hold an objective view toward China and take the Chinesepublic's feelings into account. It should also look beyond the fact that ideology in China isdifferent from the path the West wants it to take during the global fight against terrorism.

Russia Will Stick With Putin Till the Bitter End

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• By Alexander Morozov

Shamil Zhumatov / Reuters

Russia's actions in 2014 were shocking both for their scale and abruptness. Tossing aside all concern for world rankings, economic considerations and the standards of international cooperation — all of that boring baggage of today's global system — the Kremlin set sail for unchartered waters. According to philosopher Mikhail Yampolsky, "Russia moved from the post-modern world to the modern" — that is, back to the first half of the 20th century.

In 2015, Russia is facing consequences that nobody in the Kremlin could have imagined in their worst nightmares just two years ago. Russia was evicted from the G8, its relations with Germany are mired in deep crisis, the United States and the European Union have imposed hard-hitting sanctions and many European firms have stopped supplying Russia with much-needed high-tech equipment.

Russia is losing its place as the world's eighth-largest economy, its credit rating will likely get downgraded to junk status in 2015 and in place of the attractive investment climate that Russia has offered for over a decade, it has become an extremely vulnerable economy. The fall of oil prices and the plummeting value of the ruble have forced real monthly incomes down from an average of $1,000 in June 2014 to $600 or lower today — levels not seen for several years.

Putin's actions in 2014 have focused the world's attention on Russia. Now all things Russia — from its cash reserves, penetration into European economies and foreign policy activity — have shifted from the periphery to center stage. Now every armchair analyst is counting Russia's remaining cash reserves and predicting the date they will run out.

Even now, those reserves are dissipating faster than the Russian economy can diversify them. A hopeless situation is forming in which the Russian people are forced to bear the burden of recession.

Political historians in the future will be extremely interested to learn how Russia's leaders made the decision to annex Crimea. Apparently, they wagered on the breakdown of the Ukrainian state and the strategic opportunity to create the major new state of Novorossia. However, this plan failed, and now the Kremlin finds itself in a very difficult position. It is clearly enlisting all of its resources in diplomacy, foreign propaganda and pro-Russian business circles in Europe to create a movement for the official recognition of Crimea.

The Kremlin is prepared to pay the price for that. In fact, European politicians and businesspeople initially made many statements calling on the West to view Russia's actions as a manifestation of justified anxiety, fear, or even as the result of misguided Western policy during the post-Soviet period. However, Putin could have capitalized on that support if he had not annexed Crimea in February and had only destabilized the situation in Ukraine without violating that country's borders.

As a result, 2015 begins in an atmosphere of absolute deadlock and with no strategies for curbing the confrontational rhetoric. The consensus in Europe is that the Kremlin's escapade in Crimea has stripped Russia not only of its earlier recognized status of a regional power, but has made a moot point of Kremlin ambitions to become a leader in restructuring the political architecture of Europe and even the world.

However, foreign policy and economic losses are only half the picture. The most important event of the year has been the regressive transformation of Russian society. The Crimean adventure has driven Russians into a narrow corridor of "renewed loyalty" to the authorities — effectively forcing the Kremlin to renew its social contract with the Russian people.

The overriding focus on Ukraine in Russia's domestic policy has led to a rapid reconfiguration of the social order. Tens of millions of officials, state employees and businesspeople whose enterprises are tied to the state budget — and that previously held varying views concerning Russia's future — now find themselves inextricably bound to Crimea.

The same applies to historians, journalists, college professors and high school teachers. Fully 20,000 journalists employed by the state are now compelled to help the Kremlin fight its propaganda war with the outside world. The education system must not only assimilate the explanation for the conflict with Ukraine, but also the mythology surrounding Russia's confrontation with the West.

Every Russian family has felt the effects of the Ukrainian crisis. Those who doubt the correctness of the Kremlin's actions must hold their tongues to avoid conflict with family, friends and colleagues.

But what exactly is that contract between the Kremlin and the people? In short, it contains three main points:

• Without Putin, there can be no Russia.

• Isolationism — the course that Putin will pursue until the end of his life or rule, one that places Russia among the enemies of the West.

• The country will not undertake any fundamental reforms on its own initiative.

The last point — the complete rejection of any progressive development — is the end result of Russia's 25 years of post-Soviet transition. It is obvious that the post-Crimea social contract will shift Russia from the status of a weak democracy to that of a regime controlled by a single man. Now, Russia's future depends on Putin alone — his moods, his personal health and his eventual departure or death.

Comments on social networks indicate that many thousands of people clearly understand that this new social contract contains a ticking time bomb. They know that Russia can end its current isolation and embark on the path of reform only as the result of a large-scale civil conflict, a major military defeat of Russia's armed forces or else a fundamental economic collapse. The "Ukrainization" of Russian politics has devoured this country's future.

Even if the warring parties reach a truce in eastern Ukraine, that will not change the state of Russian society. According to Russia's current rhetoric, the West is incapable of offering any response that would warrant restoring a dialogue with it. That leaves no option but for the West to go away, to disappear.

But before that, Moscow demands that the West repent for its centuries of anti-Russian policy — starting with the fall of Byzantium and ending with its alleged role in organizing the coup d'etat in Kiev. The Kremlin and Russia's new post-Crimean society will accept nothing less.

What's more, the new social contract contains no provision for ending the conflict with Kiev. That means Ukraine should simply disappear along with the West. In fact, Putin's rhetoric over the last six months clearly lacks even a single reasonable stance that the Kremlin could take with regard to the West.

The social contract is based on a dense layer of mythology that society is expected to not only perpetuate, but also believe. The very sweep of that mythology precludes any possibility of backtracking.

The extremity of the Kremlin's position shows that Russian leaders have literally "blown a fuse." Their ability to reflect upon their own words and deeds has given way to knee-jerk reactions that, in contrast to Putin's rule from 2003 to 2011, provide for no rational end to the current escalation of tensions.

Now it is unclear what set of conditions would help Kremlin leaders restore their powers of rational thinking. More than any other, this is the worst result of 2014.

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President Obama stops by Baltimore cafe

 http://www.stardem.com/

President Barack Obama treated patrons at a Baltimore cafe to a big surprise when he stopped by the Remington establishment for lunch during a visit to Charm City to discuss medical leave policies.

Christina Saul, one of the owners of the coffee shop Charmington's, says the leader of the free world ordered a roast beef sandwich and an avocado wrap with a side salad on Thursday, and stayed for nearly an hour. Obama was joined by Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland and three other women for lunch.

Saul says Obama "was awesome," adding that Obama shook everyone's hand before leaving. She says "everyone was really, really excited."

After lunch, Obama crossed the street to meet bystanders, but not before telling the owners, "the food was great."

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Bahraini forces attack anti-regime protesters

Bahrainis have held yet another protest in the capital, Manama, against the Al Khalifa crackdown on anti-regime demonstrations.

Security forces on Thursday opened fire on the demonstrators demanding the release of detained opposition leader Sheikh Ali Salman.

The forces also stormed into a mosque in Manama and arrested a number of protesters.

Similar protests were also held in other parts of the country in solidarity with political prisoners.

Anti-regime protests have escalated after Salman’s arrest in December 2014. Salman, the secretary general of the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, faces several charges, including seeking regime change.

The demonstrators want authorities to release him and end years of repression in the country.

Bahrain has been the scene of an ongoing suppression of protesters who demand the release of opposition figures.

The arrests are part of Manama’s brutal suppression of anti-regime protesters since 2011. Scores of people have been killed and thousands more wounded during the crackdown.

Agony of wife of Saudi Arabian blogger who is being flogged 50 times every Friday

The wife of a Saudi blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes ‘for insulting Islam’ today accused the government of killing her husband week by week - and spoke of her agony at ‘watching him die one lash at a time’.

Raif Badawi, who wrote a blog on human rights and social change, is being flogged 50 times every Friday for supposedly insulting religious figures and undermining the regime - a charge he and his wife Ensaf Haidar strenuously deny.

The first 50 of the lashes were inflicted in front of hundreds in the main square in Jeddah last week - and the same is due to happen again today, and for the next 18 weeks, until all 1,000 have been completed.

It is believed Raif, a 31-year-old father of three, will need hospital attention after each flogging; it has been suggested his body will not be able to sustain the assault over the coming weeks.

For Ensaf, almost 6,000 miles away in Quebec, it is too much to bear.

Speaking to the MailOnline, she said: ‘Saudi Arabia is endangering his health and life – if they go through with the whole 1,000 lashes, they are killing him more every week. 

'It is a criminal act.’

Ensaf and the couple's three children, Najwa, 11, Terad, 10, and Miriam, seven, have been living in a small town in Canada since November 2011.

They fled Saudi Arabia when Raif was arrested, spending two years living in Lebanon before being granted refugee status.

It means - although they are safe - none of them have seen Raif for more than four years and, since he was moved to a new prison two-and-a-half weeks ago, no one has spoken to him either.

However, Ensaf, 35, did have friends in the square last Friday - including Raif's sister.

'She unfortunately witnessed the flogging,' Ensaf said. 'She was there to try and support her brother.

'He was very strong - he was silent during the flogging.' 

But the advent of technology means Ensaf has also been able to see what happened to her husband.

Shocking footage of Raif being whipped in the square is available online, filmed secretly.

Just as those present reported, Raif stands strong, and quietly, while two guards dole out the punishment, and the crowds jeer.

Ensaf is still shocked it has come to this: she knew her husband wrote a blog called Free Saudi Liberals, but never thought it would draw the attentions of the authorities like it did. 

He was arrested in June 2012 - although it had been expected for a while, as the government had blocked his bank accounts and banned him from leaving the country in 2009.

At first, he was accused of apostasy - or renouncing Islam, a charge which, if found guilty, would have meant beheading.

But it was thrown out by Sadi Arabia's high court, and Raif was sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes after being found guilty by an anti-terrorism court of 'undermining the regime and officials,' ''inciting public opinion' and 'insulting the judiciary'.

It was upped to 10 years and 1,000 lashes after he appealed the sentence.

‘I was surprised, because I never thought it would go this far,' Ensaf said. 

'What he is has been accused of is not true. He did not insult the religion and Islam or any member of the government. 

'The blog was only about social change and human rights.

‘He did not do anything wrong - he is a prisoner of conscience.’

Yet on Thursday the Saudi government confirmed this week's flogging would go ahead in the Jeddah square, which has earned the grisly nickname 'Chop Chop Square' as the site of executions.

In all the time of Raif's imprisonment, Ensaf worked to shield her children from the reality of her husband's situation. But when they knew the floggings were due to go ahead, she realised she would have to tell them.

'They only knew their daddy was in prison, they didn't know he was sentenced to flogging,' she said. 

'The school and I decided that we had to tell the kids - without going into detail. 

‘I wish I didn’t have to tell them. They cried and don’t understand. 

'They are not normal kids anymore.’ 

But Ensaf, who married Raif in 2002, still hopes international pressure will make the Saudi government stop the punishment.

Raif has many supporters in the international community, including the backing of Amnesty International - one of the first groups Ensaf contacted when she arrived in Canada.

'This case has so many violations of human rights,' said Amnesty's Mireille Elchacar, who has become a close friend of Ensaf over the past two years.

'He is a prisoner of conscience. It is a question of freedom of speech.' 

Amnesty around the world is calling on governments to intervene on behalf of Raif, and the other victims of torture in Saudi Arabia.

'Saudi Arabia is a country which uses torture in a systematic way. It is unfortunately a champion of the death penalty,' said Mireille, who also noted the irony of Saudi sending a representative to the Charlie Hebdo march in support of freedom of speech. 

Ensaf is now learning French and settling into her new country. It is, she says, 'impossible' to ever return to Saudi Arabia. 

‘They are acting in a criminal way, and I cannot have respect for a country which does not respect freedom of speech.’

And she is clinging onto the belief her husband will one day join her in Canada. 

‘I will see him again, for sure, for sure, for sure. I will never give up hope and I am sure Saudi Arabia will stop what they are doing and release him,’ she said.

Find out what you can do to help Raif and his family by visiting Amnesty UK's website. 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2912014/Saudi-blogger-Raif-Badawi-wife-Ensaf-Haidar-says-lash.html#ixzz3OwhKyDXb
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Prisoner of conscience in Saudi Arabia: spare a thought for Raif Badawi

Despite strong protests from around the world, Saudi regime shows no intention of paying the slightest attention

 Spare a thought this morning for Raif Badawi. Unless a doctor orders a delay, the liberal Saudi blogger will be brought down to the square outside al-Jafali mosque in his home city of Jeddah, and after Friday prayers face his second round of 50 lashes from a long cane. And the same every Friday for the next 18 weeks .

Badawi was sentenced last May to 10 years’ imprisonment and 1,000 lashes, and fined 1 million Saudi riyals (€230,000) for “insulting Islam”, largely a democratic critique of the regime and its extremist Wahabbist religious rulers . He has been held since mid-2012, and his Free Saudi Liberals website, established to encourage debate on religious and political matters in Saudi Arabia, is closed.

On Wednesday his lawyer, Walid Abu al-Khair, a prominent human rights activist, also received an additional five years in jail on top of a ten-year sentence after he refused to show remorse or recognise the court. His offences included breaking his allegiance to King Abdullah, showing disrespect for the authorities, and creating an unauthorised association.

Badawi’s wife, Ensaf Haidar, has told Amnesty International, which has adopted the two men as prisoners of conscience, that she fears her husband may not be able to physically withstand a second round of lashes. “Raif told me he is in a lot of pain after his flogging, his health is poor and I’m certain he will not be able to cope with another round of lashes,” she warned.

Despite strong protests from around the world, the Saudi regime shows no intention of paying the slightest attention. It has long form. An absolute monarchy with both an appalling human rights record and a longstanding record as a funder of Islamist extremism and terrorism, it also retains a special status as a protected ally of the West. Its oil, massive budget for Western-produced arms, and its conservative politics shield it from any serious talk of sanctions. While last weekend its ministers, in an act of breathtaking hypocrisy, marched with 1.5 million heartbroken Parisians in support of freedom of expression.

Spare a thought for Raif Badawi.