religions is viewed by many as incitement rather than free speech." December 2010 apology In early December 2010, Waleed Al-Husseini posted a letter to his family on his blog in which he apologized for offending Muslims and sought forgiveness for what he called his "stupidity". A friend, who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Husayen posted the letter in hopes of winning release from prison. Al-Husseini states in his 2015 autobiography Blasphémateur he did not write it, but discovered it on leaving custody and reaccessing the Internet to find out what people had been writing about him during his imprisonment. "I came across my blog, also, and I was sickened to see that the only left on it was a statement by the Palestinian Authority, in my name, excusing myself and as asking for forgiveness for having blasphemed Islam. Five years of work and over two million visitors had vanished". In December 2010, a Palestinian security source said Waleed Al-Husseini would continue to be kept in jail for his own protection: "It is impossible to release him because we are afraid he will be killed by his family." Human Rights Watch has urged the PA to release or charge him, citing that holding him without charge for more than 72 hours violates Palestinian law. After ten months of imprisonment, Husayn was released on bail, but was sometimes arrested and held by PA security agents for days at a time. During one of those times, he was tortured. PA security officials also smashed his two computers and demanded he stop posting his views on the Internet. Escape to France According to Al-Husseini, for months after he was released, he was harassed by PA security forces and sometimes detained without charge, and received numerous death threats. Fearing for his life, he took an emotional leave from his siblings and aunt and from his parents who he says did not understand his atheism but still supported him as their son. Having discovered that France had exerted some diplomatic pressure on his behalf, which he believes may have led to him being released from prison pending trial, he decided to seek asylum there. He left the West Bank for Jordan, obtained a visa from the French embassy there, and moved to Paris, where he applied for asylum. In his autobiography, Al-Husseini states he later found he was sentenced to seven-and-a-half