Call for political action to Free Raif Badawi and Waleed Abu Al-Khair

This call will be sent to the UK Prime Minister and the leaders of other political parties as an Open Letter at 5pm on Tuesday, 10th March. Please continue to add your name after that time. Further action will be necessary. Sign on to the letter here.

Dear Sir/ Madam

Saudi blogger Raif Badawi is currently imprisoned in a Saudi Arabian jail having received the first 50 of a threatened 1,000 lashes. If Raif survives these floggings he faces another 10 years in jail. His ‘crime’ was to have set up a website that called for peaceful change of the Saudi regime away from the repressive and religiously exclusive regime that it is.

In another shameful act his lawyer Waleed Abu Al-Khair, and other human rights activists were also later arrested. On February 20th this year Waleed had his sentence confirmed as 15 years in prison.

The European Parliament in its resolution of Feb 12th made clear its demands on Saudi Arabia to release Raif, as well as his lawyer Waleed and others imprisoned there for exercising their freedom of speech.

But to free Raif from this nightmare needs more than politicians saying that they disapprove of his punishment.

The total EU trade with the Saudi regime is currently close to €64 billion a year. The UK alone has approaching £12 billion invested in Saudi Arabia whilst it continues to invite Saudi investment in the UK, particularly in the property market. Saudi investment in the UK is currently over £62.5 billion.

As the regime inflicts beheadings and floggings on its people, questions have to be asked about why more cannot be done to promote the human rights of citizens of a country with which there is such extensive business. Particularly questions have to be asked about the morality of providing such a regime with arms, particularly the weaponry and facilities they use in their brutal penal system.

We ask that you make publicly clear your complete opposition to the human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia and demand the immediate release of Raif and Waleed as the EU parliament has done. We also ask that you make publicly clear what measures you will take as a government to put any trading with this regime on an ethical basis and what conditions you will demand from the Saudi regime if all of that trade is to continue – particularly in relation to weapons that might be used in oppression or imprisonment.

If nothing is done to stop the brutality, beheadings and floggings that are committed there – then any moral stand taken against similar horrors committed elsewhere by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria can only be compromised.

In the spirit of consistency, transparency and humanity we ask you to take action to Free Raif and promote human rights in Saudi Arabia

Yours

Call on your MP to back this statement https://www.writetothem.com/

(Signatories that had been verified by 11:59pm, Monday, 9th March)

All signatures are in a personal capacity unless otherwise stated

There are another 100 we are compiling most of which we will publish at 5pm today)

Pete Radcliff FreeRaif_UK
Maryam Namazie, Spokesperson for Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All and Producer of Bread and Roses TV
Peter Tatchell, Human Rights Campaigner
Maureen Freely, President, English PEN
Francis Wheen, journalist and author
John McDonnell, Labour MP, Hayes and Harlington
Chris Williamson, Labour MP for Derby North
Roger Godsiff, Labour MP for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath
Liz McInnes, Labour MP for Heywood and Middleton
Mark Durkan, SDLP MP for Foyle
Caroline Lucas, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion
George Galloway, Respect MP for Bradford
Rahila Gupta, Journalist
Stephen Law, Provost Center for Inquiry UK
Val Graham, FreeRaif_UK
Derek Wall, International Coordinator of the Green Party of England and Wales
Dawn Elliott, Chair, Broxtowe CLP
James Bloodworth, Editor of Left Foot Forward
Ramin Forghani, Founder of Ex-Muslims of Scotland
Bahram Soroush, Political Analyst
Sarah Peace, Fireproof Library
Jonnie Dean, Fireproof Library
Gona Saed , Women’s Rights Campaigner
Aso Kamal, Secular Activist
Dashty Jamal, Federation of Iraqi Refugees UK
Noori Bashir, Activist
Amal Farah, Spokesperson of Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain and One Law for All
Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society
Liam McNulty, Hornsey and Wood Green Constituency Labour Party Youth Officer
Amel Grami, Tunisian Academic
Ibrahim Abdallah, Muslimish NYC Organizer
Amine Boukhliq, Council of Ex-Muslims of Morocco
Rumana Hashem, Women’s Rights Campaigner, Environmentalist and NariDiganta
Marieme Helie Lucas, Founder of Women Living Under Muslims Laws and Secularism is a Women’s Issue
Rayhana Sultan, Activist
Johnny Monsarrat, Secular Policy Institute
Richard Dawkins, Scientist
Fariborz Pooya, Federation of Iranian Refugees UK and Host of Bread and Roses TV
Billy Carvaka
Paul Stott, Distance Learning Tutor, University of Leicester.
Simon Cottee Senior Lecturer in Criminology Kent University (researcher on Islamism in the UK)
Houzan Mahmoud: Kurdish womens rights campaigner- UK
Alan Thomas, blogger Shiraz socialist
Maajid Nawaz, Co-Founder and Chairman of Quilliam Foundation
Behzad Varpushty, Activist
Andrew Coates Branch Chair UNITE LE 1/860.
Lejla Kuric, Secular and Women’s Rights Activist
Fatou Sow, International Director of Women Living Under Muslims Laws
Aliyah Saleem, Secular Education Activist
Simon Heywood, writer, UCU
Andreas Bieler, UCU HEC and Prof. of Political Economy, Nottingham University/UK
Camilla Bassi, blogger and UCU Sheffield
Tony Byrne RMT
Liam Conway, Secretary Notts NUT and NEC member Notts/Derbys
Clive Bradley, writer
Diana Peasey, Chair, Nottingham NUJ branch
Mick Duckworth Vice-chair Nottingham Branch NUJ
Rod Malcolm, reporter
Kabir Ahmed NUJ freelance
Dave Kirk Branch Secretary of Unite NE204/4
Janine Booth, Secretary RMT Central Line East branch, poet and author
Jasim Ghafur, Iraqi Kurdish activist
Mick Sidaway, Branch chair Norwich RMT
Adrian Cruden, Green Party Parliamentary candidate
Tim Cooper ,Treasurer, Unite Community Nottingham
Daniel Lemberger Cooper, NUS National Executive Council
Omar Raii, UCLU External Affairs & Campaigns Officer
Kingsley Abrams United Left NCC Branch Officer LE 1111 Housing Workers
Martin Mayer, Chair United Left of Unite the Union
Howard Fuller, Prospect Union
Robin Carmody, Human rights activist
Mark Catterall Labour Councillor Todmorden & Unison steward
LSE Students’ Union Atheist, Secularist & Humanist Society
Andy Sinclair, RCN, Lancashire East branch
Chris Moos, Secularist Activist and Researcher
Emma Robertson, Artist, Educator and Secularist
Anna Butler, student at NTU
D.R. Callaghan, Hull, UK
Anthony McIntyre, Ireland
Carrie Twomey, Ireland
Robin Graft, Eastleigh, British Humanist Association & National Secular Society member
Barby Moore, Teesside
Graham Ash-Porter Bishopstoke
Linda Antsov, Bournemouth
Alan Mitchell UK
Chris Giles, Blackpool, Lancashire
Simon C Russell Brighton
Jill Mcgregor Liverpool
Sarah Franklin, Islington, London
Christine Rimmer, Nottingham, UK
Elinor Munday, Andover
Andrea Coleman, Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Catherine Shea Edinburgh
Victoria Hayward, RMT union, London
Simone Theiss, London
Barbara Bradshaw,, Pulborough, West Sussex
Susan Dorrell ,Activist, Tottenham, London
John Dorrell, Sutton, Surrey
Charles Parkes, Nottingham, UK
Owen Sheers, author and Chair of Wales PEN Cymru
Katrina Finn, Berkshire
Marie Sheard, Leeds
Anne Amison, Brixham, Devon,
Madeleine Buxton, Manchester UK
Lynne Barker, West Yorkshire, UK
Barbara Schaefer, Author, Lecturer, Nottingham
Graham Auty, Leeds North East
Miriam Moss, Leeds North East
Colin Gunter, Cambridgeshire, Chair of Ely Humanists
Darrell Croston, Fleetwood, Lancashire, GB
Judith Pilatowicz, Kingston, Surrey
Nazia Tingay, London
Susan Frampton, Mickfield, Suffolk
Louise Neale, Aylsham, Norwich
Angus Watson London UK Human Rights Activist
Cllr. Kevin Bennett , Warrington, Unite the Union activist
Polly Shepperdson – Bristol Amnesty international member
Annabel Gullett , Cheltenham, UK
Chrissie Grech, West Sussex, UK
Jane Street, Clinical psychologist, London
Martin Bassant, Leeds NE
S Maguire, Woking, Surrey.
Keri Borden, Gulf Shores, AL USA
Susanne Lück, Berlin, Germany
Fabienne Couturier, Montreal, Canada
Elena Senra, Melbourne, Australia
Monika Janek Toronto, Ontario Canada
Lola Gómez, Switzerland
Angela Schmid, Switzerland
Wendy Beasy, Adelaide, Australia.
Laurie Hogg, Auckland, New Zealand
Vishnu, Kozhikode, India
Torill Andersen, Oslo, Norway
Gwendoline Hancke, 09100 Pamiers, France
Lotta Lennartsdotter, Sweden
Irene Samuelsen, Kristiansand, Norway
Nicole Salenc, Montelimar 26200 France
Jean-Francois Raymond, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Katharina Tschakert, Austria
Maria Raos, Dornbirn, Austria
Marie-Claude Thomas, Quebec Federation of University Teachers and Professors, Montréal, Canada
Maggie Furmanczyk, Canada
Corinne Suau, Marseille, France
Marie-Claude Thomas, Canada
Vera Scott, Social Media activist, Free Raif Badawi Planning Group
John Morgan, 11160 Cabrespine, France
Dr. Friederike Mussgnug, Berlin, Germany
Susan Malone , Australia
Bernadette Bresard , St Cyr en pail France
Michaela Schaumlechner, Freedom for Raif #ArgeRaif, Austria
Tineke Jansen, Ghent, Belgium
Anita Hokkanen, Helsinki
Vera Cecília Papaterra Limongi ,São Paulo- Brazil
Maria Del Mar Roman Exposito, Malaga, Spain
Rachel Nicol-Smith, Vancouver, BC, Canada