RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- A Saudi Arabian blogger who was imprisoned and flogged publicly for criticizing the country's religious establishment has been awarded the European Union's top human rights award.
Raif Badawi, 31, was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought on Thursday. He was arrested in 2012 and charged with apostasy, cybercrime and disobeying his father for starting a website where he criticized Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic religious establishment.