A Saudi Arabian blogger has been sentenced to face public whippings in the Red City of Jeddah on Friday.
Raif, Badawi, co-founder of the former news outlet, Liberal Saudi Network, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with 1,000 lashes and was ordered to pay 1 million riyals (around $330,000 AUD). The flogging is set to take place weekly, the BBC reported.
Witnesses said the blogger arrived in a police car at the city's mosque and remained silent while authorities cited his charges and ordered him to face the public with his back as he received 50 lashes.
Prior to his public beating, human rights groups, as well as the US, urged for the cancellation of the "brutal punishment" and called for a review of his case.
Amnesty International representative Said Boumedouha stated that the beating was a "vicious act" and is "prohibited by law".
"By ignoring international calls to cancel the flogging Saudi Arabia's authorities have demonstrated an abhorrent disregard for the most basic human rights principles," he stated.
Aside from this case, Saudi Arabia has also applied its stringent version of Islamic law to Badawi's lawyer, jailing him for 15 years, after proving his anti-terrorism acts last year.