Index on Censorship, English PEN and Article 19 will hold a peaceful vigil in front of the embassy of Saudi Arabia at 9am on Friday 23 January in condemnation of the ongoing flogging and imprisonment of Raif Badawi. Please meet at the Curzon Street side of the embassy.

Blogger and activist Badawi will receive his second set of 50 lashes on the 23rd after a postponement on Friday Jan 16 to let the wounds from his first 50 lashes heal. Badawi’s punishment will continue every week until 1,000 lashes have been given. He is being punished for speaking out against Islam and powerful Saudi religious figures on his blog, Free Saudi Liberals, which encouraged political debate. As well as the lashings, he has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 1 million riyals (£175,000).

He received his first 50 lashes in the port city of Jeddah on Friday 9 January. An anonymous witness said:

“A security officer approached him from behind with a huge cane and started beating him. Raif raised his head towards the sky, closing his eyes and arching his back. He was silent, but you could tell from his face and his body that he was in real pain. The officer beat Raif on his back and legs, counting the lashes until they reached 50.”

It’s crucial that we take a stand against the Saudi government’s brutal treatment of this political prisoner. Every week that Raif Badawi is dragged to the public square in Jeddah and given another 50 lashes for exercising his right to freedom of expression, scores of Saudi activists will muffle themselves in fear of a similar reprisal.

We call on the Saudi government to stop this extreme punishment, and to release Raif immediately.

Join us at 9am. Please meet at the Curzon Street side of the embassy.