By Allison Lampert
MONTREAL, Dec 31 (Reuters) - Imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif
Badawi, recent recipient of one of Europe's most prestigious
human rights awards, has suffered fainting spells and
deteriorating health because of a lengthy hunger strike, his
wife said on Thursday.
Ensaf Haidar, who was granted asylum in Canada with the
couple's three children, said by phone she hoped her husband
would end a hunger strike he initiated more than 20 days ago to
protest his transfer to a different prison in Saudi Arabia.
A member of Amnesty International in Canada said by email
they were not able to confirm the hunger strike.
Badawi, who created and managed an online forum, was found
guilty in 2014 of breaking Saudi Arabia's technology laws and of
insulting Islam. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and
1,000 lashes.
Badawi received his first 50 lashes in January, prompting
strong criticism in Western countries of the kingdom's human
rights record.
"I am very worried about him," Haidar said Thursday in
Arabic through an interpreter. "His health, both physical and
mental, is very poor."
She said she had last spoken with her husband two weeks ago,
and had been kept informed of Badawi's condition by a contact in
Saudi Arabia whom she declined to identify.
Reuters was unable to independently verify Badawi's
condition.
Haidar said she was thankful to the Canadian Foreign Affairs
Minister Stephane Dion, who recently asked his Saudi counterpart
for clemency for Badawi. She reiterated her request for Canadian
citizenship for the family.
A Canadian government spokeswoman was not immediately
available for comment. Officials at the Saudi embassy in Ottawa
were not immediately available for comment.
Haidar, who accepted the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of
Thought on her husband's behalf from the European Parliament on
Dec. 16, said the family had been optimistic after the Swiss
secretary of foreign affairs told media in November that Badawi
could receive a royal pardon.
She said the transfer to a different prison shortly
afterwards was unexpected, and triggered Badawi's hunger strike.
"This was a surprise and counter to what we had heard," she
said. "I hope that this hunger strike is not a sign that he has
given up."
Haidar, who has been separated from Badawi for the last four
years, said she had hoped they would be reunited by the end of
2015.
"I would have loved to enter the new year with my entire
family," she said. "Four years is a long time."
(Editing by Bernadette Baum)