Brussels, 17/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Monday 16 February, the French delegation in the EPP Group at the European Parliament explained why it had not backed the joint resolution on Saudi blogger Raif Badawi.
At the vote on 16 February, EPP coordinator on foreign affairs, Cristian Preda, stated that the EPP had not signed the joint resolution because the way the resolution was written drew a parallel between Saudi Arabia and Islamic State (IS). Indeed, according to the text, Saudi Arabia would be a “more credible and effective” partner in the fight against terrorist organisations, including IS and al-Qaeda, “if it did not engage in anachronistic and extremist practices, such as beheading, stoning and other forms of torture, similar to those used by IS” (see EUROPE 11252).
“It is not acceptable to put Saudi Arabia - a country which is an ally in the fight against terrorism - on an equal footing with Islamic State, which is currently one of our main enemies. This pointless confusion unfortunately prevents us from backing the text in plenary”, said Philippe Juvin, the spokesperson for the French delegation of the European Parliament's EPP Group. Juvin stated that the EPP Group strongly condemned all forms of corporal punishment. It called on the Saudi authorities to stop corporal punishment against Raif Badawi, and to re-examine his case and his punishment.
An EPP source stated that the negotiations on the resolution had been very difficult and that the EPP had preferred to pursue its own resolution and not co-sign the joint resolution. The EPP has not submitted any amendments to the joint resolution. (Camille-Cerise Gessant)