INTERVIEW: Raymond Johansen on Raif Badawi Winning the Sakharov Prize

Ryan Johansen
Image source: Liam Soutar

Imprisoned writer Raif Badawi has won the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, the European Parliament has announced.

Badawi was named as the 2015 Laureate by the European Union last week. Established in 1988, the prize is given annually to those who have made an exceptional contribution to human rights campaigns, and to the defense of freedom of thought. Previous winners include Nelson Mandela (1988) and Malala Yousafzai (2013). It is the latest prize in a long line of human rights honours for Badawi, including the PEN Pinter Prize and the Swiss Freethinker Prize, which he shared with his wife, Ensaf Haidar, and his lawyer, Waleed Abulkhair.

Who is Raif Badawi?
Raif Badawi, 31, is a Saudi Arabian activist, blogger & writer, and the creator of the website Free Saudi Liberals. Between 2010 and 2012, he posted several blogs that debated the relationship between religion and state in the Saudi Kingdom.

He was arrested in 2012 on charges of insulting Islam through electronic channels, and apostasy – the latter of which carries a death sentence. Indeed, the courts spent months deliberating whether to sentence Badawi to death. The high court refused to charge him with apostasy, and in 2013, he was sentenced to seven years in prison and 600 lashes. The court came to its senses and realised how ludicrous this punishment was. In 2014, Badawi was re-sentenced. This time it was increased to ten years in prison and 1000 lashes.

His wife, Ensar, and their three children, fled Saudi Arabia in 2013, having been granted political asylum in Canada.

Badawi’s book, 1000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think, was published earlier this year and has been translated into six languages, with more translations on the way. The collections of articles that make up the book were originally posted online, and provide insight into a liberal mind in a country dominated by intolerance.

Badawi’s freethinking is complimented by sarcasm and wit. “There seems to be a science called Sharia Astronomy that I wasn’t aware of… I advise NASA to abandon its telescopes and instead turn to our Sharia astronomers,” Badawi jokes in ‘Let’s lash some astronomers,’ an article in which he hit out at clerics who criticized astronomers for ‘encouraging skepticism about Sharia law’.

Along with these articles, it is said that evidence against him included ‘liking’ an Arab Christians page on Facebook.

Badawi remains in prison to this day. Currently, he has been subjected to 50 of his 1000 lashes, as his deteriorating health has raised concerns that more torture could kill him.

Who was Andrei Sakahrov?
Badawi shares traits with the prize’s namesake. Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989) was also a dissident. Originally a nuclear physicist, he eventually became concerned with the moral implications of developing weapons of mass destruction.

He turned to campaigning for civil liberties and for human rights reforms in the Soviet Union. These protests against the Soviet ideology led to Sakharov being exiled in 1980 and stripped of all his Soviet honours, including four Order of Lenin and three Hero of Socialist Labour awards. But there was one honour they couldn’t take away from Sakharov – the Nobel Peace Prize, given to him in 1975. Even then, however, he was not allowed to leave the USSR to accept the prize.

That is another connection between the pair – as Badawi was nominated for the 2015 Edition of the Peace Prize; setting in motion a wave of support to see him given the title. It ultimately went to the National Dialogue Quartet (NDQ), a Tunisian democracy group that rose out of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011.

Despite the disappointment, many Badawi campaigners agreed that the decision by the Nobel committee was a good one, given the similar causes that both the NDQ and Badawi fought for – most notably, the idea that secularism and Islam can cohabit peacefully.

With Badawi behind bars, who fights for him?

Backlash social media campaign
Backlash social media campaign

Badawi’s prospects for release were given a huge boost by having an award bestowed by the EU, at a time when many Western governments are pretending there is nothing wrong with Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. It’s a bold statement of opposition to these violations, at a time when David Cameron and the Conservative government continue to negotiate backdoor deals with the oil-rich nation; turning a blind eye to the rising number of executions being carried out in the country, with methods such as crucifixion still being used.

But Sakharov Prize aside, there’s been little governmental pressure on Saudi Arabia to release Badawi. More often that not, it falls on activists to raise awareness of Badawi’s situation, and to campaign for his nomination for the Sakharov prize and other awards.

Organisations like Backlash Group and the Raif Badawi Foundation continue to apply pressure to the Saudi regime on a daily basis. Social media drives including lipstick lashes, #Backlash and #FreeRaif quickly went viral, rapidly spreading awareness of Badawi and his plight.

I spoke with one of the key figures involved in these campaigns: Raymond Johansen, a Norwegian Pirate Party & Anonymous activist, about his commitment to Badawi’s cause.

Raymond first became aware of Raif Badawi through the Free Saudi Liberals, during the Arab Spring. In August 2015, Raymond became the first person to be publicly tortured in Trafalgar Square in nearly 200 years, enduring 50 lashes in act of solidarity with Badawi.

He has, quite literally, felt Raif’s pain.

It was a feat not taken lightly by Raymond. A torture survivor himself, he was almost beaten to death in 2002, but speaks little of his ordeal.

He was one of many that sought the Nobel Prize to be given to Badawi with the belief that it would put pressure on the Saudis to release him.

Raymond claims: “If Raif had gotten the prize it would have made it impossible to keep him in prison. The Saudi government would have gotten a clear message that it is time for a change. Time for a spring, a spring without violence. Time for reform.”

Raymond is also quick to dismiss the notion that political or economical pressure from Saudi Arabia was behind the Nobel Prize decision.

“It is tempting to believe that Raif Badawi did not get it because of the power of Saudi Arabia, but I have no evidence to support such a theory. The relationship between the very rich Kingdom and the West is very close for many reasons, but as I said I do not think this was the reason he did not get the prize.”

Raymond does, however, acknowledge that there were significant attempts from Saudi ambassadors to strong-arm MEPs into not awarding the Sakharov prize to Badawi.

“I know for a fact that the Saudi ambassador and corporate lobbyists have put certain MEP’s under direct pressure,” he concedes.

Those who did not bow to this pressure include Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, who said: “I urge the king of Saudi Arabia to free him [Badawi], so he can accept the prize.”

To most, it would appear as though Badawi’s release is slowly but surely turning into a matter of when, not if.

But is there potential for a knee-jerk reaction by the Saudis to all the unwanted attention? Could they be encouraged to move forward with more flogging? Raymond prefers not to think of it that way.

“This is a constant fear we live with, but we cannot allow ourselves to succumb to that. In every battle there is a risk, but doing nothing is not an option,” he explains. “Raif, and the symbol he has become, is much too important for that. Millions of people now know his name and what he represents.”

Raymond concludes: “When talking about freedom of speech, we must remember that it is not only under attack from repressive governments like the Saudi Kingdom. Freedom of speech is under attack in all parts of the world.”

Indeed, in places like France, we have seen extreme attempts at censorship; the Charlie Hebdo massacre occurred just two days before Badawi’s first public flogging in January 2015.

Is Badawi’s story relevant to us all?
Raif Badawi’s story is a vital one in the fight for freedom of speech. His audacity in publishing words that, to this day, put his life at risk, is a symbol of bravery – not just for Saudi Arabians, but people all around the world. I can heavily criticize the powers that be, from the comfort of the UK, with a relatively low fear of reprisal. But this doesn’t mean there aren’t lessons that the West can learn from Badawi’s bravery.

His writing proves that every individual voice can be heard, no matter how likely it is that that voice will be drowned out amongst public opinion. He proves that these contrasting expressions are necessary to the progression of multiculturalism around the globe. Raif Badawi teaches that the status quo should always be questioned even if the odds of it ever changing are astronomical. Especially when it’s Sharia astronomy.

Raymond concludes: “Even if, god forbid, prison or public torture should take him from us – his life will have been worth more than words can describe.”

Find out more about Raif Badawi at www.raifbadawi.org

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