Saudi blogger Raif Badawi's sentence suspended: Swiss official

A Swiss newspaper is reporting that imprisoned Saudi blogger Raif Badawi couldhavehis sentence of 1,000 lashes suspended, but Amnesty International has yet to confirm the news.

The Swiss Secretary ofForeign AffairsYvesRossiertold theFribourgdaily newspaperLaLibertthat Badawi's sentence was suspended.

"A royal pardon is in the works thanks to the head of state, KingSalmanbinAbdulazizAlSaud," he said.

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Rossier said he brought up the matter while on an official visit inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Amnesty Internationalstill concerned

Badawi'swifeEnsafHaidar andtheirthree childrenhave political asylum in Canada and livein Sherbrooke, Que.

MireilleElchacar, aspokeswoman for Amnesty International's Sherbrooke chapter,said it has yet to confirm the report.

Shesaid Amnesty is waiting for more information, though it has concerns that even if Badawiisfreed, he couldbe required to stay in Saudi Arabia.

Arrested forcriticizing Islam

Badawi was arrested in June 2012 for criticizing Saudi Arabian clerics on hiswebsite.He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes.He was also fined $266,000.

Because 1,000 lashes at once would likely be fatal, Saudi judges decreed that Badawi would bewhipped in instalments of 50 lashes spread out over20 weeks.

However, the first lashing left Badawiso badly injured that his subsequent weekly sessions were postponed.

Elchacarsaid the last update Amnesty received onBadawi'sconditionwas thathis health andmorale were suffering.