SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DETENTION OF RAIF BADAWI AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

That this House condemns the continued unjust detention of blogger Raif Badawi in Saudi Arabia and calls for his immediate and unconditional release; notes that 17 June 2019 marks seven years since the arrest of Raif Badawi; recalls that Badawi is serving a 10-year prison sentence on charges of insulting Islam and apostasy, that he was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, of which 50 were administered in January 2015, and that he faces a 10-year travel ban on his release from prison; is alarmed by the Reporters Without Borders report that at least 28 journalists and citizen journalists are currently unjustly detained in the country in connection with their work, in addition to two others who continue to face charges but have been temporarily released; calls for the immediate and unconditional release of those 28 journalists; is concerned by the continued lack of justice in relation to the horrific murder of Saudi columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul in October 2018; further notes that Saudi Arabia has one of the world's worst records on press freedom, with a ranking of 172 out of 180 countries in the Reporters Without Borders 2019 World Press Freedom Index; and urges the UK Government and the international community to increase efforts to secure the release of the jailed journalists and citizen journalists, achieve full justice for Jamal Khashoggi and hold Saudi Arabia to account for its international human rights obligations.