Samar Badawi

Samar bint Muhammad Badawi Canada's request for her immediate release sparked a major diplomatic dispute between Canada and Saudi Arabia.

Disobedience and adhl court cases Samar Badawi was allegedly physically abused by her father for 15 years. that Samar Badawi had been arrested and taken with her 2-year-old daughter Joud to a police station in Jeddah where she was interrogated. Four hours later, Badawi was transferred to Dhahban Central Prison, the same prison where her brother, Saudi dissident Raif Badawi is held. On 13 January, The Guardian quoted "activists" as saying Samar Badawi had been "freed on bail after being arrested and held briefly" at the Dhahban prison. She was said to be home with her daughter, but had been ordered to report to the police in Jeddah early 14 January for further interrogation.

Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Program called Badawi's arrest, "...yet another alarming setback to human rights in Saudi Arabia [demonstrating] the extreme lengths to which the authorities are prepared to go in their relentless campaign to harass and intimidate human rights defenders into silent submission." Center for Inquiry, an American nonprofit educational organization, called for her immediate release, and asked the US State Department to "bring to bear what diplomatic power they have to press Saudi Arabia to release Samar." A spokesperson for the Saudi Interior Ministry, Maj. Gen. Mansour Turki, denied claims that Badawi had been arrested.

July 2018 arrest According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Samar Badawi, along with Nassima al-Sadah, were arrested by Saudi authorities on 30 July. She was held in the Dhahban Central Prison.

Following criticism and calls for Badawi's release on the part of Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland, Saudi Arabia expelled Canada's ambassador, and froze trade with Canada.