Saudi activist gets 15-year sentence for 'inciting public opinion'


(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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