Saudi Arabia to resume flogging blogger Friday

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Jan. 14 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia will resume flogging blogger Raif Badawi Friday as part of his sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison.

Badawi was arrested in 2012 for cybercrime and insulting Islam on his website The Liberal Saudi Network. He received the first 50 of the thousand lashes Friday Jan. 9. The next round of flogging is set to take place Friday Jan. 16.

Badawi's wife, Ensaf Haidar, doesn't think her husband can take another beating.

"Raif told me he is in a lot of pain after his flogging, his health is poor and I'm certain he will not be able to cope with another round of lashes," she told Amnesty International.

International human rights groups and advocates for freedom the press of condemned the ruling and punishment.

Badawi's flogging comes on the heels of the terrorist attack against satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, leaving 12 dead. Delegates from Saudi Arabia stood with French President Francois Hollande and other world leaders in the march to support press freedom and to remember those who died -- a situation pointed out by critics as hypocritical.