I Am Not Brave Enough to ‘Be Charlie’… And Neither Are You
The public debate following a major news story has distinct phases. We are all literate in the stages: frantic news reports; confirmation of what has happened; The first opinion pieces, trying to make...
View ArticleRailing against Saudi Arabia at the vigil for Raif Badawi
On Friday morning, I led a small vigil outside the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in support of Raif Badawi, the blogger convicted of ‘Insulting Islam’ and ‘founding a liberal website....
View ArticleWe can win the fight to save Raif Badawi from the horror of Saudi Arabian...
First posted on the Independent website. Do we see a glimmer of light in the dark case of Raif Badawi? King Abdullah has referred the case to the Saudi Arabian supreme court, following the...
View ArticleSaudi clichés on Raif Badawi
Last week the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hit back at those who have been voicing their dismay at the hideous and inhuman sentence handed down to liberal blogger Raif Badawi. The Kingdom cannot believe...
View ArticleNo, Ambassador: It’s Not ‘Meddling’ to Call for Free Speech in Saudi Arabia
First posted yesterday on Huffington Post UK. Today is the third anniversary of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi’s arrest, and thousands of activists around the world are demanding the reversal of his...
View ArticleDebating Saudi ‘Red Lines’ on the BBC
On Wednesday I was invited onto the BBC World Service programme ‘BBC World Have Your Say’ to discuss Raif Badawi’s PEN Pinter Prize and the issues experienced by bloggers in Saudi Arabia. Also on the...
View ArticleWhy doesn’t the FCO speak out on behalf of Raif Badawi? Minister and...
In September I attended the launch of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office’s Magna Carta Partnerships programme, a new fund that seeks to promote legal expertise and the rule of law around the world....
View Article#FreeRaif: Ensaf Haidar visits London
Raif Badawi is serving a 10 year prison sentence for writing a liberal blog. It really is that simple and awful. #FreeRaif — robertsharp59 (@robertsharp59) May 17, 2017 Today I was honoured to meet...
View ArticleHuffPost: Britain Sets An Example With Its Human Rights Laws –...
To coincide with the publication of Free and Fair, HuffPost UK published an edited version of my chapter on their politics homepage. Here’s the central message of the piece: How can FCO diplomats...
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