Saudi blogger, Raif Badawi may face death penalty

Raif Badawi, the Saudi Arabian blogger whose punishment of 1,000 lashes has prompted international condemnation, may now face the death penalty.

Badawi's wife, Ensaf Haidar, told The Independent in a series of messages that judges in Saudi Arabia's criminal court want him to undergo a re-trial for apostasy. If found guilty, he would face a death sentence.

She said the "dangerous information" had come from "official sources" inside the conservative kingdom, where Mr Badawi has already been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes - administered at a rate of 50 per week - for criticizing the country's clerics through his liberal blog.