Motion text
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.
Signatures (27)
The first 6 Members who have signed to support the motion are the sponsors. The primary sponsor is generally the person who tabled the motion and has responsibility for it. The date shown is when the Member signed the motion.
Brake, Tom
Liberal Democrat
Signed on
17 June 2019
Whittingdale, Mr John
Conservative
Signed on
17 June 2019
Buck, Ms Karen
Labour
Signed on
17 June 2019
McDonald, Stewart Malcolm
Scottish National Party
Signed on
17 June 2019
Lucas, Caroline
Green Party
Signed on
17 June 2019
Doughty, Stephen
Labour
Signed on
17 June 2019
In addition to the sponsors, the following Members have signed to support the motion.
Grogan, John
Labour
Signed on
17 June 2019
Cunningham, Mr Jim
Labour
Signed on
18 June 2019
Shannon, Jim
Democratic Unionist Party
Signed on
18 June 2019
West, Catherine
Labour
Signed on
18 June 2019
Linden, David
Scottish National Party
Signed on
18 June 2019
Stephens, Chris
Scottish National Party
Signed on
18 June 2019
Gethins, Stephen
Scottish National Party
Signed on
18 June 2019
Newlands, Gavin
Scottish National Party
Signed on
18 June 2019
Bottomley, Sir Peter
Conservative
Signed on
18 June 2019
McNally, John
Scottish National Party
Signed on
19 June 2019
Hopkins, Kelvin
Independent
Signed on
19 June 2019
Law, Chris
Scottish National Party
Signed on
19 June 2019
Hermon, Lady
Independent
Signed on
19 June 2019
George, Ruth
Labour
Signed on
20 June 2019
Godsiff, Mr Roger
Labour
Signed on
26 June 2019
Clwyd, Ann
Labour
Signed on
27 June 2019
Brown, Alan
Scottish National Party
Signed on
1 July 2019
Jardine, Christine
Liberal Democrat
Signed on
1 July 2019
Hendry, Drew
Scottish National Party
Signed on
2 July 2019
Lewis, Dr Julian
Conservative
Signed on
2 July 2019
Western, Matt
Labour
Signed on
3 July 2019
There are no withdrawn signatures for this motion.