Photo: Ensaf Haidar · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Born in Saudi Arabia · Nationality Saudi — Culture / media / celebrities

Raif Badawi

Arts, letters and intellectuals Celebrities, influencers and social media

Documented profile covering 5 controversies, including “Ten-year prison sentence and 1,000 lashes for online writings” and “Release followed by ten-year travel ban”.

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Profile No. 0510 · Updated on 12 October 2026

5Documented controversies

10Sources

0Formal charge · all time

1Conviction

§ Legal statuses reflect the documented sources as of the date shown; they replace neither court decisions nor the presumption of innocence. Counts are not a rating. Methodology

I. Documented controversies

2022-2032

Release followed by ten-year travel ban

Civil / administrative proceedings

Upon his release from prison in March 2022, Badawi remained subject to a ten-year travel ban, preventing him from immediately joining his wife and their children in Canada.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Protagonist is the victim

Sources · 1

[1]
ReutersSaudi blogger Badawi out of prison, still faces travel banMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 19 August 2026

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Case · 2 documented stages

Ten-year prison sentence and 1,000 lashes for online writings

Conviction

2012-2022

Ten-year prison sentence and 1,000 lashes for online writings

Conviction

Blogger Raif Badawi was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, a substantial fine and 1,000 lashes for offences linked to his writings and online forum, in a case that became emblematic of repression of freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia. He underwent the first round of flogging in 2015 and was released in 2022 after serving his sentence.

State of the evidence: Established by a court

Sources · 2

[1]
ReutersSaudi blogger Badawi out of prison, still faces travel banMediaHigh reliability
[2]
TIMERaif Badawi Is Still in Prison Over a Series of Blog PostsMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 19 August 2026

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2012-2013

Apostasy charge: exposure to death penalty before charge dropped

Case dismissed / dropped

In December 2012, a judge cited Raif Badawi for apostasy and referred the case to a higher court, potentially exposing him to the death penalty. In July 2013, the Saudi press reported that the apostasy charge had ultimately been dropped, while Badawi was convicted of other charges linked to his website.

Attribution: Directly implicated

Sources · 2

[1]
ReutersSaudi website editor could face death for apostasy-rights groupMediaHigh reliability
[2]
ReutersSaudi website editor gets seven years in prison and 600 lashesMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 19 August 2026

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2015-2020

Prison conditions, isolation, denial of medication and hunger strikes

Allegations

During his long detention, Badawi was the subject of several reports concerning prison conditions. Organisations and his family reported isolation, restricted contact, denial of access to books and important medication, and several hunger strikes in protest. In 2020, his family said it had heard nothing from him for more than a month following hunger strikes and deterioration of his condition.

State of the evidence: Documented
Attribution: Protagonist is the victim

Sources · 3

[1]
USCIRFSaudi Government Denies Medicine to Religious Prisoner of Conscience Raif BadawiOfficial documentHigh reliability
[2]
TIME'We Are Very Worried.' Jailed Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi's Family Say They Have Not Heard From Him In Over a MonthMediaHigh reliability
[3]
The GuardianJailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi on hunger strikeMediaHigh reliability

Last verified: 19 August 2026

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2008-2009

Harassment before major trial: questioning, travel ban and frozen accounts

Investigation

Before his arrest in 2012, Badawi had already been questioned and briefly detained in connection with his forum and religious criticism. In 2009, he was prevented from leaving the country, and Badawi's and his wife's bank accounts were frozen amid increasing pressure on his online activities.

State of the evidence: Documented

Sources · 3

[1]
USCIRFRaif BadawiOfficial documentHigh reliability
[2]
Front Line DefendersCase history: Raif BadawiNGOHigh reliability
[3]
Committee to Protect JournalistsRaif BadawiNGOHigh reliability

Last verified: 19 August 2026

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II. Constellation of documented links

No documented link with another published profile for now.

Two profiles are linked when a documented controversy of one names the other. The link points to that controversy and its sources; it does not indicate a personal relationship.

III. Has something changed?

A new court decision, a missing source, a mistake? Tell us what should be updated: every request is read by the editorial team.