Raif Badawi freed from Saudi prison

The Quebec family of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has confirmed he has been released from Saudi prison, 10 years after he was jailed for criticizing religious figures and promoting liberal views of Islam.

"After 10 years in prison, Raif is free!" Ensaf Haidar, Badawi's wife, tweeted, Friday.

As the news spread, Haidar was met Friday afternoon by cheering supporters holding signs bearing her husband's photo, and she shared a few tearful hugs outside city hall in Sherbrooke, Que., where she lives with her three children.

"I am at a loss for words," Haidar said, in an interview with Radio-Canada. "I would like to find the words, but I am just happy." 

"He is, I don't know how many kilometres away, but the important thing is that Raif is free," she said.

WATCH | 'Mom, is it true?' Badawi's children ask about their father's release:

'The important thing is Raif is free,' says wife of blogger released from Saudi Arabia prison

3 years ago

Duration 0:49

Ensaf Haidar reacts to the news that her husband was released from prison in Saudi Arabia. Raif Badawi spent a decade in jail after promoting liberal views on Islam.

Haidar has been fighting for her husband's release for the past decade. She received a call this morning from Badawi, as he was signing his release papers.

"He is doing well. Even he doesn't know what to say," she said. "It's still a surprise for us, but a good surprise."

She said two of her children were home when she received his call.

"[They said] 'Mom is it true? Is it true?' Their responses were really touching," Haidar said.

"We were jumping everywhere we were running in the house," said the couple's daughter, 18-year-old Najwa Badawi. "It's a weight off our shoulders."

Release conditions unclear

Badawi's family had been anticipating his release, as his 10-year sentence had been served in full as of Feb. 28.

Following his arrest in 2012, Badawi was also sentenced to 1,000 lashes and a fine of 1 million Saudi Arabian riyal, or about $340,000 Cdn. 

Badawi's case made international headlines when he was whipped 50 times in public, and the remainder of the lashings were suspended following international outcry.

Haidar said she does not yet know the conditions of Badawi's release. 

Collette Lelièvre, a campaigner with Amnesty International Canada who has worked on Badawi's case for most of the last decade, said the organization is continuing to call for the lifting of the travel ban imposed on Badawi by the Saudi government, so he can join his family in Canada. 

The organization has planned a demonstration in Montreal for next Tuesday, to support Badawi and to call for more vocal action from the Canadian government.

"Now is the time to push," she said. "If we work for Raif, we also work for other human rights defenders and other political opponents [in Saudi Arabia].

She praised Haidar for her tireless work to secure her husband's freedom. 

"She has done so many things! Spoken to conferences, demos, travelled around the world to arrive to this point," Lelièvre said

On Friday evening, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a tweet that he was "relieved that Raif Badawi has finally been released."

"My thoughts are with his family and friends who have been tirelessly advocating for him for nearly a decade," Trudeau said.

"Our officials are now working to seek clarity on the conditions of his release."

Opposition calls for Canada to take action

Quebec political figures also celebrated the news of Badawi's release.

"Finally! I can't stop thinking about his children who will finally see their father again," Quebec Premier François Legault wrote on Twitter. 

Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, the Bloc Québécois immigration and human rights critic, said Haidar's perserverance was lesson to the world to "never give up," adding that she called him this morning with the "extraordinary news."

"This day will be remembered as the day Raif Badawi was free," he said.

Brunelle-Duceppe introduced a motion in the House of Commons in January 2021 in favour of granting Badawi Canadian citizenship. That motion was adopted unanimously by the Senate last June.

Brunelle-Duceppe said the Bloc would continue to support Badawi's family through the next steps of bringing him to Canada.

"It's an unbelievable day. It's a fantastic day. It's a unique day in their history — in our history, I think," he said.

Though Canadian consular services are normally not offered to non-Canadian citizens, NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice urged the government to make an exception in this case, so that officials could help get Badawi back to his family.

Conservative foreign affairs critic Michael Chong also welcomed the news, underlining Canada's responsibility to protect basic freedoms.

"As human rights are being attacked across the world, it's even more important that Canada defends the protection of human rights against threats from authoritarian states," Chong said.