Question Period Note: Saudi Arabia: Imprisonment and punishment of Raif Badawi

• Canada is following the case of Mr. Badawi closely. The promotion and protection of human rights, including the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, are an integral part of Canada's foreign policy.
• I have raised my ongoing and serious concerns about Mr. Badawi when I spoke to both King Salman and the Crown Prince. The Deputy Prime Minister, in her previous role as Minister of Foreign Affairs, also voiced her concerns, including in her conversations with former Saudi Foreign Minister Al Jubeir.
• Canada will continue to raise our concerns over Mr. Badawi's situation with Saudi authorities, both through diplomatic discussions and through multilateral fora. We will continue to call for a positive resolution to this case.
• The Saudi King advised us on two occasions that this is a family matter, given that Mr. Badawi's father reported his son's activities to the authorities.

• Mr. Badawi is a 35-year-old Saudi blogger, activist and the creator of the website Free Saudi Liberals.
• He was arrested in 2012 on a charge of insulting Islam and brought to court on several charges, including apostasy.
• In 2014, he was cleared of apostasy, which could have carried a death sentence.
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• In 2014, Mr. Badawi lost his appeal to his earlier more lenient sentence and was resentenced to 1000 lashes and ten years in prison plus a fine. The first 50 were administered publically in Jeddah in January, 2015. The lashes were to be carried out over 20 weeks. No subsequent lashes have since been administered.
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• Samar Badawi, Raif's sister and redacted, was arrested and imprisoned in August 2018.
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