Flogging of Saudi Blogger Said to Be Resuming Soon

Whippings could soon resume for a blogger in Saudi Arabia sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for "insulting Islam," CNN reports. Raif Badawi, who advocated for secularism on his blog Saudi Arabian Liberals, has been in prison since 2012 and received the first 50 of his scheduled weekly lashes in January 2015. According to the Telegraph, an international outcry arose after the initial floggings, and the second round was delayed while Badawi healed. Now, his wife Ensaf Haidar says a trusted source told her those next 50 lashes have been approved by authorities and could happen any day. “I call on his Majesty King Salman to gracefully end my husband’s ordeal and to pardon him,” she says. She is hoping Badawi will instead be deported to Canada, where she and their children have been living. (More Raif Badawi stories.)