MONTREAL — Authorities in Saudi Arabia have postponed the flogging of blogger Raif Badawi for medical reasons, a spokeswoman for the family said Thursday.
Elham Manea told The Canadian Press that local doctors in Jiddah determined Badawi could not withstand the 50 lashes scheduled for Friday.
She added that Badawi's punishment won't likely go ahead for several weeks.
"We are very cautious," Manea said in an interview from Switzerland. "We are very glad to hear this, but at the same time, we are very cautious. We are very worried that, nevertheless, things will change in Saudi Arabia."
Badawi was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for writing on a liberal blog he founded. He was also fined more than $300,000.
The 32-year-old father of three received the first 50 lashes on Jan. 9, but his second set of lashes was postponed last week for medical reasons.
The lashes were scheduled to be doled out over a period of twenty weeks.
"Instead of continuing to torment Raif Badawi by dragging out his ordeal with repeated assessments the authorities should publicly announce an end to his flogging and release him immediately and unconditionally," Said Boumedouha, of Amnesty International, said in a statement.
Badawi is not a Canadian citizen but his wife and three children fled Saudi Arabia in 2012 and settled in Sherbrooke, Que., in 2013.
Protest vigils have been held across Quebec, and in dozens of countries around the world, in solidarity with Badawi in recent weeks.
NDP leader Tom Mulcair sent a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper last week, asking him to speak out in support of the jailed blogger.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said "Canada is deeply concerned" by Badawi's punishment, which he described as "a violation of human dignity and freedom of expression."
"While Mr. Badawi is not a Canadian citizen, we will continue to make our position known, both publicly and through diplomatic channels," Baird said in a statement.
