Much attention for #LetBadawiFly
The poster with Raif Badawi and our invitation to dialogue to Saudi guests in Interlaken is attracting a lot of attention from the Swiss media but also internationally. The municipal council of Interlaken received a letter from us on 10 August asking them to return to their decision as soon as possible or to send it to us in the form of an appealable order.
The phone of the FVS media office rings often these days, and President Andreas Kyriacou thanks the Interlaken municipal council on Twitter for this: «Without the municipal council's attempt at censorship, we would probably have had to make much more intensive efforts to accompany our campaign in the media.» There is great interest in the story, the development and Raif Badawi, various newspapers, TV stations and online portals are reporting.
Individual support comes, for example, from politicians such as National Councillor Natalie Imboden, who asks on Twitter «Does freedom of expression not apply in Interlaken?» and Adrian Aulbach, Co-President of the Green Party Interlaken-Oberhasli. But the poster has also met with great interest internationally, including from Hillel Neuer of UN Watch, who is campaigning for the cause internationally.
Strong support at all levels
According to reports in the Bernerzeitung, Berner Oberländer and Blick, the humanist press service, the Jungfrau Zeitung (as a letter to the editor), msn spread the Blick article, the posse has made it as far as Canada and Venezuela. Bloggers like lemondedekitchi also comment on the attempted censorship on their portals: «But I didn't want to miss reporting here about an action in the Bernese Oberland, which I otherwise appreciate so much.»
The wife of Raif Badawi, Ensaf Haidar thanked him personally on Twitter and actively supports the action. She has accompanied the campaign since the awarding of the Freethinker Prize to her, Raif Badawi and his lawyer Waleed Abulkhair in 2015. «We are incredibly happy about the great support and the attention for our so important cause», Lisa Arnold, communications manager and head of the FVS office, thanked.
The FVS will be happy to provide further information, images, etc. There are currently three posters in Interlaken and Bern, and more will be added on Monday. The posters in the postbuses and on the BLS are already visible.
Contact
Lisa Arnold
Head of Communication and Office
Office of Freethinking Switzerland
www.frei-denken.ch
gs@frei-denken.ch
+41 76 805 06 49