Officials in the Saudi judiciary have transferred jailed blogger Raif Badawi to another prison, and his wife reports that her husband is protesting the move with a hunger strike.
The German News Agency reports that Saudi authorities cited “administrative issues” as the reason for the transfer.
Ensaf Haider, Badawi’s wife, who currently resides in Canada, announced that the jailed blogger started his hunger strike three days ago.
Badawi, 31, has been in prison for three years and has endured 50 lashes to date.
In 2008, he launched a blog calling for a “free secular society”. In 2012, he was arrested and tried for apostasy and insulting religious figures. He received a sentence of 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes and a fine of $267,000.
The sentence was approved by the appellate court in June.
On October 29, the EU awarded Badawi with the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, which his wife accepted in Strasbourg.
