Rights activist jailed for 15 years in S. Arabia

DUBAI: A Saudi court on Sunday sentenced to 15 years in jail a prominent rights lawyer described by Amnesty as a prisoner of conscience, relatives said in a statement posted on Twitter. The tweet said that Waleed Abulkhair, who has had many run-ins with the authorities over his activism and for allegedly insulting authorities, was also banned from travelling abroad for 15 years and fined 200,000 riyals ($54,000). His wife, Samar Badawi, in a telephone interview, stressed that Abulkhair contested the ruling and refused to recognise it. “Waleed does not recognise the legitimacy of this court, refuses to accept its verdict and has no intention to appeal,” as allowed under the law, said Badawi. He was convicted on a series of charges, she said, including “undermining the regime and officials” as well as “inciting public opinion” and “undermining judicial authorities”. Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2014