Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was the victim of an assassination attempt in a prison in his country, according to his wife, who fled to Quebec with her children.
Ensaf Haidar explained on Twitter that another prisoner tried to kill him. This detainee was arrested because he was a member of a terrorist group, she said.
“His case was transmitted to the public prosecutor. Raif is on a hunger strike because he does not feel protected in prison, ”she added in her message published in English on Sunday.
This is not the first time that Mr. Badawi has gone on a hunger strike, one who has carried out several during his detention over the years. In September 2019, he had stopped eating for a few days, until he received a visit from the supervisor of the Saudi Commission on Human Rights.
The Saudi activist was sentenced at the end of 2014 to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam on his blog. He was lashed in 2015, but the remainder of that sentence has since been suspended. His wife and three children were granted political asylum in Canada.
The federal government has repeatedly demanded the release of Raif Badawi, but the authorities of this very conservative monarchy have always turned a deaf ear to these demands, even if Canada is ready to accept it.