1000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think

Badawi is a young Saudi Arabian writer and activist who was arrested in 2012 simply for the internationally recognized, peaceful exercise of his right to freedom of expression. Badawi has been sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes, the first 50 of which were administered in January 2015. The second set has been postponed several times, apparently owing to international pressure and Badawi's declining health. This book is a translation of a sample of Badawi's writings and sociopolitical commentaries on the state of affairs in his native Saudi Arabia and the broader Arab world. Badawi's writings are refreshing and reflect the desires and aspirations of the young generation of Saudis who want to bring about peaceful transformation of the socially regressive and hidebound political regime that has ruled that country. The combination of internal repression and foreign aggression is a lethal dose that has turned one of the West's closest allies in the Middle East into a destabilizing state.