Thank you for the question.
We expect Mr. Badawi to be released sometime between today and June. Depending on whether our normal calendar or the Muslim calendar is used, the release date should be either today, February 28, or in June.
We are quite sure that he will be released because, in the last 18 months, human rights defenders imprisoned in Saudi Arabia and whose sentences have been served or who are under some arrangement, really have been released. However, the word release is in quotation marks because, once they are out of prison, most, if not all, of them are prohibited from leaving the country for between 5 and 10 years. In Mr. Badawi's case, the prohibition is for 10 years.
We are optimistic that he will be released, but we have to keep up the work. Canada must continue to demand that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia let Mr. Badawi come to Canada. He is not Canadian, but his wife and children live in Canada and they are Canadian now. Canada can add its weight to the scales, as other countries are also doing. The pressure for Mr. Badawi to come here must be maintained.