Jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has described in his first public remarks from prison how he “miraculously survived 50 lashes” as part of a conviction that sparked an international outcry, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.
Badawi was arrested in 2012 for offences including insulting Islam, cyber crime and disobeying his father, which is a crime in Saudi Arabia. He was sentenced last year to 10 years in jail, a fine of $266,000 and 1000 lashes.
In his remarks, Badawi recalled how he received the first round of lashes in January while surrounded by a cheering crowd that chanted “Allahu akbar” (God is greatest), Der Spiegel said.
“All this cruel suffering happened to me only because I expressed my opinion,” Badawi was quoted as saying in what the magazine said was his first letter since being jailed.
“He’s in a poor condition,” the magazine quoted his wife Ensaf Haidar as saying, adding that her husband suffered from high blood pressure and that he was mentally very stressed.
