Sarah Leah Whitson : Saudi Arabia gave a good indication of its position on appropriate punishments last Friday , when it carried out Round 1 of a public flogging -- 50 lashes -- against Raif Badawi , a young blogger , in front of the al-Jafali mosque in Jeddah . Blogger 's flogging most recent example of Saudi 's extreme punishment . She says on jihad violence , easy to connect dots to Saudi Arabia , region 's model for repression . Whitson : " The kingdom has been accused by human rights groups and international bodies of using the death penalty as a means of silencing critics in its courts and jails.
Sarah Leah Whitson : Blogger 's flogging most recent example of Saudi 's extreme punishment . She says on jihad violence , easy to connect dots to Saudi Arabia , region 's model for repression . Whitson : " The kingdom has been accused by human rights groups and international bodies of using the death penalty as a means of silencing critics in its courts and jails.