The City of Montreal will make jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi an "honorary citizen" this afternoon. Marvin Rotrand and Ensemble Montréal, the official opposition at city hall, proposed a non-partisan motion last week to honour Badawi. Badawi has been in jail in Saudi Arabia since 2012, when he was arrested on charges of insulting Islam on his blog. Badawi was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $300,000 — a punishment that was decried by human rights defenders worldwide at the time. Badawi's imprisonment has drawn widespread international condemnation, and human rights groups have accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of not doing enough to free him.

Source: CBC News May 28, 2018 11:35 UTC