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

Condos made up more than a third of Canadian housing starts last year, CMHC

OTTAWA — Condominiums accounted for more than one-third of all Canadian housing starts last year, and more than half of the total in several of the country's biggest cities, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says.

Condos made up more than a third of Canadian housing starts last year, CMHC

2014 The Year in Canadian Politics; Scandal, Labour & Sweeping Change

Tim Schouls, political studies instructor at Capilano University put it blunt when he said, “In the general sense, the Conservatives are in a bit of trouble,” citing a number of areas, most especially the Senate scandal, which choked up national headlines back in 2012 when the entire situation unraveled at the behest of the work of auditor general, Michael Ferguson.

2014 The Year in Canadian Politics; Scandal, Labour & Sweeping Change

Liquor Will Be Sold In BC Grocery Stores Starting April 1, 2015

Attorney General Suzanne Antonsays government-run liquor stores will now be permitted to open on Sunday's, with longer hours and the stores will offer chilled products, similar to private liquor outlets.

Liquor Will Be Sold In BC Grocery Stores Starting April 1, 2015

Two RCMP Officers In BC Won't Face Charges After High-speed Chase And Arrest

VICTORIA — British Columbia's criminal justice branch has opted not to charge two RCMP officers who were involved in a high-speed chase between Fernie and Sparwood in southeastern B.C. earlier this year.