National

Politicians call on Ottawa to help secure release of Saudi blogger

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 13 Jan, 2015 10:52 AM

MONTREAL — Several politicians are calling on Ottawa and Quebec to help secure the freedom of a Saudi blogger who was flogged 50 times last week after being convicted of insulting Islam.

Raif Badawi's wife and children live in Quebec.

Representatives of the federal NDP, the Parti Quebecois and Quebec solidaire held a news conference in Montreal this morning urging Ottawa and Quebec to do more to help free Badawi.

Badawi was sentenced last May to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes after he criticized Saudi Arabia's powerful clerics on a liberal blog he founded.

International Development Minister Christian Paradis was asked about Badawi at a news conference in Quebec City today and said the case is complicated because he is not a Canadian citizen.

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

From dark concrete to glass: National Arts Centre to get major facelift

OTTAWA — Nearly 50 years after the National Arts Centre was opened to celebrate Canada's centennial, it will undergo a major facelift to mark the country's 150th birthday.

From dark concrete to glass: National Arts Centre to get major facelift

Magnotta's lawyer asks jury to find his client not criminally responsible

MONTREAL — Luka Rocco Magnotta's lawyer has asked jurors to find his client not criminally responsible in the slaying and dismemberment of Jun Lin.

Magnotta's lawyer asks jury to find his client not criminally responsible

Oil tanker adrift off coast of Nova Scotia after loss of steering

HALIFAX — An oil tanker is adrift off the coast of Nova Scotia due to a loss of steering.

Oil tanker adrift off coast of Nova Scotia after loss of steering

Rape, Referendum, Climate Change Among Topics Of B.C. Non-fiction Finalists

VANCOUVER — A first-person account of a rape, a look at the 1995 referendum and a study of climate change are among the finalists for the B.C. National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction, worth a whopping $40,000.

Rape, Referendum, Climate Change Among Topics Of B.C. Non-fiction Finalists

Hungry polar bear cubs shot after entering Nunavut town

TALOYOAK, Nunavut — Residents in a remote Arctic hamlet are baffled by the number of hungry polar bear cubs that have wandered into their community since the fall and have had to be shot.

Hungry polar bear cubs shot after entering Nunavut town

Vancouver Places 30,000 Sandbags Along Waterfront In Anticipation Of King Tide

VANCOUVER — Some 30,000 sandbags line a stretch of low-lying waterfront land in Vancouver, placed by city workers in a bid to protect local homes from an anticipated king tide.