Raif still behind bars: Suspend Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council‏

	Raif still behind bars: Suspend Saudi Arabia from the Human Rights Council
	We just called for the UN General Assembly to suspend Saudi Arabia from the world's top human rights body. Help us do more to champion human rights. Donate now.   Dear friends, Raif Badawi, a blogger in Saudi Arabia, withstood 50 excruciating lashes. His full sentence requires a total of 1,000 lashes and 10 years of confinement - all because he published a blog that promoted religious freedom. Meanwhile, the Saudi Arabia government sits on the world's top human rights body - the UN Human Rights Council. This hypocrisy cannot stand. Saudi Arabia's government does not respect human rights, and it should be suspended from the Human Rights Council. Donate and support our work pressuring UN member states to take action. Saudi Arabia has used its position on the UN Human Rights Council to shield itself from human rights investigations. Since joining the Council in 2013, Saudi Arabia's dire human rights record at home has plummeted, and the government has also led a devastating campaign of unlawful airstrikes against civilians in the next-door country of Yemen. The list of violations is long: More than 350 people - including children - have been executed In Saudi Arabia since it was elected to the Council. Saudi Arabia used its membership on the council to derail a resolution that would have investigated war crimes by the Saudi-led military coalition that bombed Yemen. Human rights activists in Saudi Arabia have been harshly sentenced for peacefully expressing their opinions. Since 2014, Saudi's Specialized Criminal Court has sentenced activists - including Raif Badawi and his lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair - to lengthy prison terms - in some cases even to death - after grossly unfair trials. The international community - including the United States and the U.K - has been deafeningly silent. President Obama even sold Saudi Arabia a billion dollars in additional bombs. When it comes to Saudi Arabia, we must make sure the international community does not put business and arms deals before human rights. Donate now. I hope you'll be part of our efforts. Sincerely, Sunjeev Bery Advocacy Director, Middle East North Africa Amnesty International USA