Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has upheld the sentence of 10 years imprisonment and 1,000 lashes on a blogger, Raif Badawi, who was arrested in 2012 for "insulting Islam through electronic channels".
According to BBC, Saudi authorities sent Badawi's case for review amidst global outcry, after the first round of lashes in January. His wife Ensaf Haidar said that she feared his punishment would start again on Friday.
Badawi ran the Liberal Saudi Network for four years that encouraged online debate on religious and political issues. In March, the kingdom had expressed "surprise and dismay" at international criticism over the punishment.
Saudi Arabia enforces a strict version of Islamic law and does not tolerate political dissent.
