Saudi Arabia Arrests Samar Badawi for Tweeting on Behalf of Her Jailed Husband · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

Human rights defender Samar Badawi has been arrested in Saudi Arabia reportedly for tweeting on behalf of her husband, jailed human rights activist and lawyer Waleed Abulkhair. Photograph shared by her sister in law Ensaf Haidar (@miss9afi) on Twitter
Saudi human rights activist Samar Badawi was arrested on January 12, 2016, allegedly for running the Twitter account of her jailed husband, Waleed Abulkhair, a leading Saudi human rights lawyer and defender.
In July 2014, Abulkhair was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was convicted under a new anti-terrorism law for “insulting general order” and “inflaming public opinion”. His Twitter account, @WaleedAbulkhair, which Badawi is accused of running, has 82.5K followers — and continued to run even after her arrest.
Samar Badawi is the sister of liberal blogger Raif Badawi, who was famously sentenced to 1000 lashes and 10 years in prison in Saudi for “insulting Islam.” The news of Samar Badawi's arrest was reported on Twitter by her sister-in-law, Ensaf Haidar.
Haidar writes:
Urgent: #Samar_Badawi was arrested on the charge of directing @WaleedAbulkhair twitter account. pic.twitter.com/GW1Jjwt6K2
— Ensaf haidar (@miss9afi) January 12, 2016
And adds:
Urgent: #Samar_Badawi was transferred to the Dhahran central prison, where both #Raif_Badawi and #Waleed_Abulkhair are.
— Ensaf haidar (@miss9afi) January 12, 2016
Badawi's arrest was condemned by netizens around the world, including human rights defenders and journalists (link leads to Arabic-language petition) who called on the Saudi authorities to unconditionally release her. UPDATE [posted 1/13/2016 at 15:06 GMT]: Badawi was reportedly released on bail several hours after her arrest, and is currently facing interrogation by police.
Saudi Elham Al Manea describes Badawi's arrest as “unwise,” saying it would push Saudis to revolt using force:
Utterly unwise: With arrest of #Samar_Badawi, current Saudi leadership is shutting the door in the face of those demanding reform peacefully
— Elham Manea (@ElhamManea) January 12, 2016
Blogger Eman Al Najfan writes:
Peaceful activist & winner of 2012 Woman of Courage award @samarbadawi15 arrested today. #SamarBadawi #SaudiArabia pic.twitter.com/rWQbdCa3H9
— Eman AlNafjan (@Saudiwoman) January 12, 2016
And from Canada, JSheehan urges people to read Raif Badawi's book entitled “1,000 Lashes: Because I Say What I Think”:
Samar Badawi fought for Human Rights, as did her brother #RaifBadawi. Pls read his book 1000 lashes on iBooks https://t.co/PJ8dOQJmoN
— JSheehan (@TuesCheek) January 12, 2016
Others, like Maysaa Al Amoudi, shared one of Badawi's recent tweets saying:
Simple words could lead to prison #FreeSamar https://t.co/RgfOaEC5kf
— Maysaa al amoudi (@maysaaX) January 12, 2016
In that tweet, Badawi wrote:
Silence is killing us but we are steadfast
But Badawi's arrest isn't keeping many Saudis silent. This anonymous user tweets:
#اعتقال_سمر_بدوي القمع في تزايد والنهب والسرقات في تزايد والتخبط والتهور في تزايد لاشيء يقل سوى حريتنا وكرامتنا في هذا البلد
— نسيم (@rooo7_7rrh) January 12, 2016
Repression is increasing, corruption and theft is record high and haphazard decisions are on the rise. Nothing is decreasing in this country except for our freedoms and dignity.
Another Twitter user prays for God's wrath on those who committed injustice against Badawi. He tweets:
زوجها سجين وهي الآن سجينة وطفلتهم اليوم وحيدة بلا أب ولا أم !!! اللهم سلط على الظالمين #اعتقال_سمر_بدوي
— مـــســـتـــنـــيــر (@BlueSam2011) January 12, 2016
Her husband is in prison. And now she is in prison. And their daughter is today lonely, without a mother and a father. May God's wrath be on those who commit injustice.
And this netizen is afraid to breathe:
بلد الواحد يخاف فيه يتنفس .. #اعتقال_سمر_بدوي
— ريما (@ReemaWabel) January 12, 2016
We live in a country where we are afraid to breathe.