"Flogging and other forms of corporal judicial punishment violate the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment. Dont worry. Copyright 2014 - 2023. Saudi lawbreakers face rough justice In April, a Yemeni blogger living in Saudi Arabia was arrested for advocating for equality for LGBT people. Did you encounter any technical issues? Badawai was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and ordered to pay one million Saudi riyals (157,220) for setting up the Saudi Arabian Free Liberals Forum. Theyre your children after all.. 02:28 - Source: CNN. This was not because he thought that this number could be established but only to show the jury and the reporters that the number could not be quantified. Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of imprisonment on blogger Raif Badawi, despite a foreign outcry. US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2003 When John White was found dead in his dorm, two weeks after writing the letter of apology to his relatives, the skin on his back had healed. Or Stop this inhuman regime. Many also drew parallels with the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices: Both are acts of violence aimed at gagging journalists. And there were many other comments of that kind. shaka wear graphic tees is candy digital publicly traded ellen lawson wife of ted lawson iran lashes punishment video. Most of the floggings were suspended, but he eventually suffered 50 lashes before hundreds of spectators in the city of Jiddah in 2015. Our weekly culture newsletter from books and art to pop culture and memes sent every Friday. I saw Raifs delicate frame from behind, in the middle of a big crowd of people. But I cant do that! Theyll find out anyway, she argued. 1) Flogging Flogging, whipping or lashing are all used in Saudi Arabia and. All Rights Reserved. Flogging with a cane is administered for less serious offences, such as drinking alcohol. The report for 2000 adds that 5 persons were sentenced to 2,600 lashes, and 4 persons to 2,400 lashes, for "deviant sexual behavior". One of them had been sentenced to lashes, which were never inflicted. Charges: Violating Islamic values and propagating liberal thought. Saudi Justice Through British Eyes The new year began with an act of violence. On occasions they have been carried out in public, as in this 1970s photograph and also this one. Will you promise me that youll be brave and not tell the children? Yes, of course. I sat down on a kitchen chair. Detained: June 17, 2012. I had spoken to him from prison several times before but will never forget that call as long as I live. 2023 Cable News Network. by Ensaf Haidar & Andrea C. Hoffmann, published by Other Press on 17 May 2016. He offered to come home with me and jump in when I couldnt cope any more. Bamboo is too stiff and brittle to behave like a whip.). How severe were the wounds that he had suffered from this brutal abuse? Amnesty document (March 2000) in which two people, one male and one female, describe the experience of receiving a court-ordered flogging in Saudi Arabia. It is the extreme rapidity of the strokes -- about four per second -- which is perhaps most surprising, and which makes this seem quite a different kind of thing from the formal and ceremonial manner in which JCP has typically been conducted in the British world (Malaysia, Pakistan, etc. He was convicted on multiple charges, including "breaking allegiance" to the Saudi ruler, "inciting disorder" and seeking to disrupt state security, Amnesty International said. I simply couldnt imagine the authorities going ahead with it. Supreme Court stops order of controversial lashings for convicts, Protesters in Washington DC simulate flogging of imprisoned blogger Raif al-Badawi (AFP), Abdullah al-Hamid: Saudi human rights advocate and 'national hero', Saudi Arabia courts abolish flogging as punishment. The punishment roused outrage and condemnation from around the world, including from many of Saudi Arabia's allies. by Human Rights Watch) claim that floggings are "often" public. He is being held up (somewhat incompetently) against the back of a police van and punished with what is either a somewhat rigid whip or an extremely flexible long cane. John White was not the only person who had died after a flogging but this was the occasion on which the explanation for a dynamic relationship between superficial marks and injuries left on the body and internal organs of the punished was used as a political argument against corporal punishment. A circular issued by the Ministry of Justice and sent to the courts of the kingdom reports an abolition demanded for years by human rights organizations, which, however, harbors a small print: lashes will continue to be applied in crimes such as adultery, attack on . The Saudi Media Debates Flogging by the Saudi Religious Police Badawai is not the only Saudi activist to have faced punishment over exercising his right to freedom of speech. Then you have the experience of the floggers. This was provoked by a 1997 case in which two British nurses were convicted of murder (but later released). Its here that we receive journalists and stay in contact with activists all over the world who are standing by us. Wilson, by analysing the cutaneous layer and the organs underneath, argued, in times prior to the discovery of the effects of bacteria in the bloodstream, that there was a connection between the external lacerations caused by the lashes and the internal state of the organs. If Im not mistaken it was a Thursday again when Raif was allowed to call us. Robert leapt in and picked up the thread of the conversation for me. Neom: International companies ignore questions over human rights risks, Neom: Saudi Arabia jails nearly 50 tribespeople for resisting displacement, Morocco to hand over Saudi man facing extradition, says brother, Abdullah al-Hamid, pioneering Saudi human rights defender, dies in custody, Amnesty says Premier League 'risks being a patsy' as Saudi Newcastle buyout edges closer, Saudi Arabia has carried out 800 executions under King Salman: Report. At least in Saudi cities, it is much more common to see women socializing openly with men and not covering their hair or faces than it was a few years ago. Thomas Wakley. Amnesty International Report 1998 In the future, judges will have to choose between fines and/or jail sentences, or non-custodial alternatives like community service, the court said in a statement seen by AFP on Saturday. Hundreds of Saudis were flogged every week, according to this January 2004 report from MEMRI, which gives a flavour of the debate inside the country at that time. Raif Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes in Saudi Arabia, prompting protests around the world One woman flogged for doing just that described on the Iranian Facebook page My Stealthy. Sign up and stay up to date with our daily newsletter. 1.6k. Saudi blogger Raif Badawi - jailed and sentenced to 1,000 lashes for "insulting Islam online" - has been freed, his wife says. How was Raif now, I wondered. Youve got to tell them whats happened.. What do you say when the person you love tells you that hes going to be abused in the most horrible way? Copyright 2023 IBTimes UK. Raif Badawi has been sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for promoting public debate on his website, Women can be stoned to death for committing adultery in Saudi Arabia, Stay up to date with our daily newsletter, criticised by groups such as Amnesty International. States that at least 27 individuals were sentenced to flogging in 1996. You cant stop them doing that. Its better if they find out from you, Robert, the social worker, tried to convince me. Badawi received his first 50 lashes in January, but subsequent floggings have been postponed. On 7 January 2015, two masked men stormed the editorial offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris and shot 11 journalists. They stared at him. Thanks to Saudi Arabias brutal and inhumane treatment of blogger Raif Badawi, flogging as a punishment is back in the news. Im afraid so, Ensaf, Raif said. All OK where you are? US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2001 The phone rang several times, but I didnt answer. It currently remains a legal punishment in several countries and regions, all of which have sharia-based criminal laws.Gay people also face extrajudicial killings by state and non-state actors, as in Chechnya in 2019, though it is denied by the Chechen authorities and . Sighting from the video, the lady who had landed herself into this dire trouble had received over 70 lashes . He did not mention the flogging. Ensaf Haidar believes a YouTube video shows her husband receiving a public flogging for "insulting Islam." Support 100 years of independent journalism. Report of the Special Rapporteur I would not call it a breakthrough, said Adam Coogle, a researcher at Human Rights Watch who tracks Saudi Arabia. US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2000 Robert did his best to explain what had happened. HRW has sometimes been prone to exaggeration in the past, but if this is true, I should think it must make Saudi Arabia pretty well unique in the world. It was unpredictable, and depended on variables such as the type of whips, the number of knots that the whips may form and, the external temperature. Its important that we think together about how to ensure that your children dont suffer any harm from this. appreciated. In 2015, he was awarded the European Unions top human rights award and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. A post shared by News Stand (@smartandstuck). Are you in great pain? Its all fine. The children know about it, too. Again the tears came. Floggings tended to be done with a wooden cane, the swift blows going up and down the backside of the sentenced person. The coroner was Thomas Wakley, a surgeon, medical journalist, and also the Lancets founder and an ardent anti-flogging campaigner. Caught on camera 16 videos Saudi blogger receives first 50 of 1,000 lashes 02:28 Never before seen Amazon tribe filmed by drone 00:46 Camera catches mailman stealing family's tomatoes 00:55. CNN's Becky Anderson reports. after they tried to take back property that ISIS fighters had stolen from their homes Women flogged thirty times. They sulked a little but accepted it. It is a huge shock for them. Floggings in Saudi Arabia typically take place Thursday nights outside of prisons . Committing adultery can lead to death by stoning. They didnt react at all. Public beheading, crucifixion and paralysis are all part of its ruthless and medieval justice system, which has seen record numbers executed. Saudi Arabian blogger and activist, Raif Badawi, is due to face his second round of 50 lashes on Friday (16 January) after being accused ofinsulting Islam. The same information is repeated in the 2002 USSD report. Page updated May 2021, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 1997, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2000, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2001, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2003, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2004, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2005, US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2006, End secrecy, end suffering - an Amnesty International briefing, case of 35 men sentenced to jail and lashes, UN Committee Against Torture, 10 May 2002, The Saudi Media Debates Flogging by the Saudi Religious Police, UN Human Rights Commission: 1997: Thematic Reports, 1994: Unwelcome "guests": The plight of Iraqi refugees, November 1997: Behind Closed Doors: Unfair Trials In Saudi Arabia. Ensaf Haidar fled to Canada from Saudi Arabia in 2014 after her husband Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger, was arrested and subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for allegedly insulting Islam through electronic channels. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. International pressure is crucial, I believe if we keep up the support it will eventually pay off. The USSD has now decided to refer to all Saudi JCP as "lashing" and makes no reference to different implements. Defend labour rights The change has followed increased criticism of Saudi Arabia's treatment of prisoners, especially political opponents under bin Salman, after scholar Abdullah al-Hamiddied in prison on Friday. It seems not to occur to any of the writers that, since the whole Saudi set-up, including the judicial system, is ruthlessly corrupt from top to bottom, convictions of innocent people are even more likely than in Britain. Amnesty International Report 1999 The coroner asked many questions to find out how many lashes a human being can endure. UK prime minister David Cameron personally urged Saudi authorities not to administer the 350 lashings that 74-year-old oil executive Karl Andree was sentenced to for being caught with bootleg wine in his car. CNN's Becky Anderson reports. Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging as punishment 'Convicts who have been sentenced to the lash will from now on receive fines or prison terms instead' April 25, 2020 10:38 pm | Updated 10:40 pm IST A very conservative version of Koranic law is in force in this exceptionally backward, corrupt and repressive country, a ruthless totalitarian dictatorship run by an absolute monarchy. Amnesty International document. US State Department Report on Human Rights Practices for 2005 Ensaf Haidar, wife of Saudi blogger and human rights activist Raif Badawi. A few days earlier, White, under the effects of alcohol, had had an argument with his sergeant and, during the fight he had stroked the sergeants chest with a metal bar. Even if it didnt tell me anything good about Raifs physical state, at the same time it was positive news: at least this week they wouldnt be torturing him anymore. The most high-profile instance of flogging in recent years was the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in 2014 for "insulting" Islam. Repeat offenders can lose both hands, and legs are sometimes taken for other offences. Tempering his enthusiasm, he said, were what he called the many other aspects of the kingdoms justice system that remain problematic, including the ability to hold people for months without charge, execution by beheading and the lack of a unified penal code. The New Statesmans global affairs newsletter, every Monday and Friday. Saudi blogger receives first 50 of 1,000 lashes. This happens "sometimes". A reader of the Times wrote to the editor that had the regimental doctor put his fingers on Whites wrist he would have found that at each lash his pulse faltered. beheading nearly twice as many people as Isis, Karl Andree: David Cameron urges Saudi Arabia to abandon grandfather flogging and drops prison contract, 74-year-old British pensioner to be publicly flogged in Saudi Arabia for carrying alcohol, Ali Mohammed al-Nimr crucifixion: Defiant Saudi Arabia rejects international 'interference' in protester's crucifixion, Indian parents kill daughter after finding pregnancy test kit, After the silence, body bags: Turkish town counts its dead, Church of England backs blessings for same-sex couples, Fighter planes for Ukraine, a complex challenge for Kyiv's allies, Findings from Reboot reveals people working from home offices are more productive. Hes fine, I lied. The Saudi authorities arrested Mr. Badawi in 2012 and put him on trial on charges that included cybercrime and disobeying his father. Soon it will be all over the net. Theres also supposed to be a video, she warned me. There was nothing I could do about it. Men 'Behaving Like Women' Face Flogging Flogging in the military, navy, schools and private homes was a common disciplinary measure in the nineteenth century. SAUDI Arabia's medieval punishments are in the spotlight as the country's investment fund looks to set to take over Newcastle United. Amnesty International Report 1997 Even when a cane is used, the punishment is normally referred to as "flogging" rather than "caning"; and the lashes (rarely "strokes") are reportedly not (or anyway not usually) inflicted with the full strength of the operator, as they are required to be in countries with a British judicial caning tradition such as Singapore and Malaysia, with their maximum of 24 strokes at any one infliction; indeed, if Saudi-style sentences of hundreds of lashes were inflicted in the Singapore manner, the prisoner would surely not survive. I dont know how long I sat there for. The teachers and I, along with the psychologist, will talk to the pupils. The men around him were wearing the usual white gowns and shouting Allahu Akbar. 1994: Unwelcome "guests": The plight of Iraqi refugees As a result, the Martial Court had sentenced White to 150 lashes. HRW describes the implement used as "a bamboo whip about 7 feet long". One reader describes being himself judicially caned in Saudi Arabia in 1994 (probably a hoax: it was in the Daily Mail). In a May 2008 opinion column in Arab News, it was claimed that lashes were now being given out by traffic police, presumably meaning "on the spot" and without a court sentence. Tomorrow theyre going to start enforcing my sentence. SAUDI Arabia's medieval punishments are in the spotlight as the country's investment fund looks to set to take over Newcastle United.Public beheading . Raif Badawi's family have warned he could die if the 1,000 lashes are carried out. All rights reserved. I didnt know what to say. One of the most high-profile cases internationally, it began when Badawi was arrested for. Then all of a sudden we received the call we were so desperate for. Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters. 2. The decision to replace flogging as a punishment with jail time and fines was made sometime this month and announced internally by the kingdoms top court, Reuters reported. No. Raif clearly had something else on his mind. They often undertook a sort of training to learn how to flog, using a tree trunk as a body. I suppose you thought to punish me for not writing, said Private Frederick John White in a letter to his brother on 25 June 1846. For almost a week we heard nothing more about Raif. A newsletter showcasing the finest writing from the ideas section, covering political ideas, philosophy, criticism and intellectual history - sent every Wednesday. Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a legal penalty. As part of his plans to diversify the economy and open up society, he has taken the power to arrest away from the kingdoms religious police and expanded entertainment opportunities by opening movie theaters and bringing in rock concerts, professional wrestling tournaments and monster truck rallies. The document casts doubt on past claims that these are relatively lightly administered and meant as a symbolic humiliation rather than as serious pain. How are you and the children? he asked. I can take pretty much anything. Local courts routinely order floggings, often of hundreds of lashes -- or even thousands, inflicted in instalments. Sighting from the video, the lady who had landed herself into this dire trouble had received over 70 lashes with less than 20 more to take whiles the scene was been recorded. 3 February 2015 What actually happens when you get flogged Thanks to Saudi Arabia's brutal and inhumane treatment of blogger Raif Badawi, flogging as a punishment is back in the news. Had they broken his bones? In one or two reports the offender was said to be tied upright to a post. With trembling hands I clicked on the video to set it in motion. Oh, great! said Dodi, who is very fond of the creatures. April 2005 release from Human Rights Watch gives a bit more information about the case of 35 men sentenced to jail and lashes for "deviant sexual behaviour" at an alleged gay party. The soldier, a 27 year-old south Londoner enlisted in the 7th Queens Own Hussars, apologised for not being in touch with his family due to a great deal of trouble he had been through. was given a punishment of 100 lashes after . If authorities ignore widespread criticism and unashamedly continue with the flogging of Raif Badawi, Saudi Arabia would be demonstrating contempt for international law and disregard for world opinion. It was as if I was being operated by remote control. He was awarded the European parliament's Sakharov human rights prize the following year. Flogging sentences are normally combined with imprisonment. Rights group Prisoners of Conscience claimed the human rights activist died because his health was neglected after doctors recommended he be taken for heart surgery. According to Wilson, the injuries resulting from flogging were confined to the skin but the flogging was followed by inflammation of the internal organs and pulpy softening of muscles. Saudi Blogger Lashed 50 Times For Insulting Islam (Video) 73,864 views Jan 14, 2015 Video has appeared on YouTube that seems to show Saudi rights activist Raif Badawi receiving his first 50. Tennessee becomes first state to outlaw drag shows on public grounds, near schools. I need to tell you something, I said, and tried to find the right words. Current trending video on the Ghanaian internet community which has raised eyebrows and additionally been labelled as barbaric by a section of social media users is footage captured during a whipping session on a Ghanaian lady who was caught in bed with another man in Saudi Arabia. Saudi govt condemns #CharlieHebdo attack as "cowardly" but flogs activist blogger @Raif_Badawi next day. I was disconcerted to see his familiar picture behind the face of a blonde newsreader. His hands were cuffed in front of his body. Saudi Arabia, France and Egypt on Friday condemned Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich for saying Israel should "wipe out" the Palestinian town of Huwara in the West Bank, adding to the fierce . In 2014, a former colleague of Badawi, Su'ad al-Shammari, was charged with "insulting the messenger and the hadith" on Twitter. Having a drink on the flight en route to Saudi Arabia. The whole day was one big nightmare. Speaking from Canada, his wife Ensaf Haidar told . Thats impossible, I struggled to say. Since then our little flat in Sherbrooke has turned into a campaign office for Raifs liberation. Ensaf, I need to tell you something. Hundreds of lashes could previously. Literal eye-for-an-eye sentences have been given in the country. For another video clip, showing a quite different kind of Saudi JCP or prison CP (falaka - whipping of the feet), see this separate page. Thanks for coming, she said to me. A 2015 demonstration in Paris in support of Raif Badawi. Nevertheless, surprisingly soon he is heard moaning and shouting. In the above video, IBTimes UK explains five of the most barbaric punishments you can receive in Saudi Arabia. A weekly round-up of some of the best articles featured in the most recent issue of the New Statesman, sent each Saturday. Convicted killer Alex Murdaughs new mugshot after double life sentence. Believe me, I would rather have spared them all that too., This time Raifs reaction was very understanding. I hurried over. Saudi officials hailed the move to abolish flogging, which was confirmed by the kingdoms state-run human rights commission on Saturday, as another bold reform by Prince Mohammed. Sign up to receive information regarding NS events, subscription offers & product updates. Various references to flogging, including a 1996 case in which two secondary school students were whipped for assault in front of their fellow-pupils and teachers. According to unconfirmed reports those condemned to die this way are given tranquilisers, before being taken to a public square after midday prayers. At all events, this punishment is being inflicted by officials in uniform, who are presumably police or judicial officers of some sort. It is meant to be more of a humiliation, said Mr. Coogle of Human Rights Watch, adding that he had not heard of reports of injuries.