(CNN) -- Prominent Saudi lawyer and reform advocate Waleed Abulkhair was sentenced on Sunday to 15 years in prison and a 15-year travel ban to be applied after his release from jail for, among other things, "inciting public opinion against the government" and "insulting the country's leaders and judiciary," according to human rights activists in Saudi Arabia.
Abulkhair, a vocal
activist who called for government reforms, the release of political
prisoners and the expansion of women's rights, was also ordered to pay
the sum of 200,000 Saudi riyals ($53,000).
Abulkhair's wife, Samar
Badawi, told CNN her husband does not accept the verdict, nor will he
appeal it, as he doesn't recognize the legitimacy of the court or its
ruling. Badawi, who was present when the sentence was read, added, "This
verdict was far from just. Waleed was tried and sentenced simply for
his work as a human rights activist."
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