MONTREAL – Amnesty International’s Quebec branch says the eldest sister of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been released after 24 hours in detention.
Samar Badawi was freed sometime earlier today from a Saudi jail but a spokeswoman for Amnesty says it isn’t clear under what conditions.
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Badawi was detained for allegedly posting on the Twitter account of her brother’s lawyer, Waleed Abulkhair.
It’s unclear if there was a bail attached to her release, but Amnesty’s spokeswoman Anne Ste-Marie says Samar Badawi is due back with authorities for interrogation on Thursday.
Raif Badawi, who is not a Canadian citizen, was arrested in 2012 for his criticism of Saudi clerics and was convicted in 2014.
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He was sentenced to 10 years in jail as well as 1,000 lashes. He received the first 50 last January during a public flogging.
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His imprisonment has drawn widespread condemnation both internationally and in Canada.
Raif Badawi’s wife and their three children live in Sherbrooke, Que.
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