Blogger Kashgari Repents - ‘Voluntarily’
A Saudi journalist awaiting interrogation over tweets deemed insulting to Islam’s Prophet Mohammed insists that he has repented, a relative told AFP on Wednesday.
As predicted by me in a recent post, Hamza Kashgari has quickly repented while in Saudi prison. The type and measure of his punishment is as yet unknown. Meanwhile, Islamic organizations in Malaysia continue to express their concern over the deportation of Kashgari to Saudi Arabia without any type of due process:
Sisters in Islam (SIS) is deeply disappointed that the Malaysian government has deported the Saudi blogger Hamza Kashgari without due process. This deportation was carried out despite the absence of an extradition treaty between the two countries and the probability that Hamza might face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for alleged blasphemy.
Facebook posts and pages calling for the execution of Kashgari continue to pop up and gather support. I will not link them directly. From the news24 article:
His post sparked outrage and prompted thousands to call on a Facebook page entitled “The Saudi people demand Hamza Kashgari’s execution” for him to be executed. The page already has more than 23 000 members.
Pages in support of Kashgari have also been formed, but as of now have far fewer members.
Next up: Likely a show trial, flogging, expulsion. All for expressing an opinion.