Saudi blogger Raif Badawi.

Malta’s political leaders have condemned the punishment given by the Saudi government to blogger Raif Badawi who is expected to receive another 50 lashes today for his work for defending freedom of expression.

This is the second flogging for the father of three who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for setting up the Saudi Arabian Liberals website in the autocratic kingdom.

The 31-year-old’s punishment began last week after Friday prayers when he was lashed 50 times with a long hard cane outside a mosque in Jeddah.

He will be publicly flogged every week for months for his actions. His sentence also includes a 10-year travel ban, and a ban on appearing on media outlets.

Prime Minister Joseph Muscat told Times of Malta the government of Saudi Arabia should reconsider the decision and stop the punishment.

Freedom of expression cannot be curtailed by punishment

“Freedom of expression should have no borders and no one should be punished for his views,” Dr Muscat said.

Opposition leader Simon Busuttil also made a strong statement in defence of free speech, defining Mr Badawi’s punishment as “horrible”. He said he hoped the international community will do all it can to persuade the Saudi government to stop the punishment.

“The issue here is not the content of a blog... but freedom of expression and how we handle it. Freedom of expression is free and should remain free and it cannot be curtailed by punishment, by lashing and still less by murder,” Dr Busuttil said.

Mr Badawi risked his freedom to question some of the basic tenets of life in Saudi Arabia, especially the central role of religion. His crime may seem innocent enough, but according to Saudi authorities Mr Badawi has insulted Islam.

His wife, Ensaf Haidar, has told Amnesty International that she fears her husband may not be able to physically withstand a second round of lashes.

The US, Canada, Germany and Norway all condemned the flogging while thousands of people across the world expressed their outrage on social media. Hundreds have organised demonstrations in front of Saudi embassies worldwide.

In August 2010, Mr Badawi warned about religion stifling creativity: “As soon as a thinker starts to reveal his ideas, you will find hundreds of fatwas accusing him of being an infidel just because he had the courage to discuss some sacred topics.”

In September 2011, he wrote a sarcastic piece attacking Saudi clerics after a TV preacher called for astronomers to be punished because they encouraged scepticism about Sharia law.

His desire for change in his country was reflected in the first weeks of the Egyptian Arab Spring, when Mr Badawi’s writings hailed the revolution in Cairo’s Tahrir Square as an example to the Arab world.

Amnesty International is running an online campaign calling for people to support the petition for his release.

“If authorities ignore widespread criticism and unashamedly continue with the flogging of Raif Badawi, Saudi Arabia would be demonstrating contempt for international law and disregard for world opinion,” said Said Boumedouha, deputy director of AI’s Middle East and North Africa programme.

Mr Badawi’s lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, had his sentence upheld upon appeal last Monday.

He was ordered to serve 15 years in prison for breaking allegiance to the ruler, among other charges.