Flogging Of Jailed Saudi Blogger Who Nearly Died From His First Round Of Lashes For Insulting Islam Will Resume Soon

The wife of detained Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, who was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and years in prison for insulting Islam, said Tuesday the flogging will soon resume. Citing an 'informed source', Ensaf Haidar, who lives in Canada, said: 'Saudi authorities have given the green light to the resumption of Raif Badawi's flogging.'

The flogging will take place 'soon' at the prison where Badawi is held, she said on a website dedicated to her husband's plight.

In March, Badawi spoke for the first time since being jailed, saying it was 'miraculous' that he had survived his first 50 lashes. Badawi recalled how he received the first round of lashes in Jeddah on January while surrounded by a cheering crowd that chanted 'Allahu akbar' (God is the greatest).

In a letter which the magazine said was his first since being jailed, Badawi said: 'All this cruel suffering happened to me only because I expressed my opinion.'

His wife Ensaf Haidar said her husband is in 'a poor condition', adding he had suffered from high blood pressure and was mentally very stressed.

Worldwide outrage followed a court decision sentencing Badawi to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail for insulting Islam, a verdict upheld this year by Saudi Arabia's supreme court.

Badawi received the first 50 lashes outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah in January, but subsequent rounds of punishment were postponed and now to resume.