Montreal vigil hails release of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, but criticizes travel ban

About 30 people held a vigil in Montreal on Thursday to both welcome the release of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi and to ask Saudi Arabia to let him leave the country.

Badawi was released on March 11, but is still banned from leaving the country for 10 years, even though his wife Ensaf Haidar and children are living in Quebec. He was also fined 1 million riyals, the equivalent of about $340,000 Canadian.

"It's a bit of a celebration, but it's not a happy one. He was released, and he did not receive the full amount of the lashes. It was still 1,000 lashes, which is not nothing. He received 50, that's not nothing either," said France-Isabelle Langlois, executive director of Amnesty International Canada, addressing the small group.

Actor Paul Ahmarani, who also spoke, said he tried, as is his job, to put himself in the shoes of Raif Badawi, "but I stopped right away. I am also a husband, a father of two 15-year-old girls, and to be forcibly removed from those you love for 10 years was too hard to imagine."

SAUDI ARABIA: A 'PRISON IN ITSELF'

"The fight is not over, because Saudi Arabia is a prison in itself," said actress Geneviève Rochette, who also attended the vigil.

Langlois nevertheless expressed some hope: "The King of Saudi Arabia confirmed that he was banned from leaving the country for 10 years, unless a royal pardon was granted. He mentioned the possibility of a royal pardon and it's almost the beginning of Ramadan and it's often an occasion for royal or presidential pardons."

However, she said, the organization does not intend to push in a disorganized way to ask for this pardon: "We continue to mobilize without making too big a splash because we do not want to harm, to have the opposite effect. It is also up to Raif and Ensaf, his wife and children, to tell us what they expect from us, the support they expect from us, how far we should go."

A FACADE OF OPENNESS

In an interview with The Canadian Press, the head of the Amnesty International campaign, Colette Lelièvre, noted that Saudi Arabia is trying to restore its image.

"Saudi Arabia has been saying for several years that they want to change the image of their country, that they want to open up to the world, that they want to change the laws within their country, that there will be reforms. Amnesty International considers that, yes, reforms are great, but they still need to be implemented and human rights respected.

"If they want to show the rest of the world that they want to open up and show a more lenient face, the gesture to be made will be to allow Raif to leave the country, him and all the other prisoners who are in the same situation as Raif, because he is not the only one," she added.

It must be said, however, that the kingdom has shown no sign of leniency in Badawi's case, other than to stop the floggings. After the first 50 lashes, the prisoner's health had deteriorated considerably and it seems authorities did not want to make him a martyr. However, no clemency was granted on his sentence. On the contrary, he was released two weeks after the expiration of the 10-year term.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 17, 2022.