Saudi activists 'hibernate' after series of arrests

The first time I came across Waleed Abulkhair's name was about five years ago, when I was following Samar Badawi's case. Badawi was being abused by her father, and despite medical and psychological reports from Saudi hospitals and shelters proving this, a court ruled in her father's favor and sent Badawi to prison on charges of disobeying her father.

For seven months, Abulkhair desperately tried to get her released, but to no avail. He then proposed that they go public, with an online campaign about Badawi's situation. She agreed, and the ensuing publicity shamed the courts into releasing her within six days from the start of the campaign, which immediately went viral. Abulkhair proposed marriage to Badawi, and it took six months of court procedures to release her from her father's guardianship to Abulkhair's. One of my favorite interviews is a 2011 BBC radio program featuring the couple, during which they talk about their love. Badawi is currently eight months pregnant with their first child.

The literal translation of Waleed's surname is "father of all good," and I cannot think of a more appropriate name for him. Until his arrest on April 15, he had been tirelessly advocating for the rights of all citizens, regardless of gender, sect or tribe. He volunteered to defend the blogger Raif Badawi when most Saudi lawyers would not want Badawi’s case and their name mentioned in the same sentence, let alone the same paragraph.

Badawi had created a liberal forum encouraging religious discussions. Unsurprisingly, in space devoid of religious dialogue, Badawi's liberal forum attracted people from across the kingdom. Badawi was subsequently charged with insulting Islam and breaching Saudi Arabia's cybercrime laws in setting up the forum. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a fine of 1 million riyals ($270,000). Badawi can appeal, but he will have to do so without his lawyer.