A Saudi court on Monday upheld a 10-year jail sentence and 1,000 lashes against Raef Badawi, founder of a liberal human rights group, for insulting Islam, an activist said.

He had been convicted of “creating a website insulting Islam” and criticising the role of the notorious religious police ….

Before his arrest, Badawi’s network announced a “day of liberalism” and called for an end to the influence of religion on public life in Saudi Arabia.