'Liberal-minded' Saudi Arabian website developer sentenced to jail term and 600 lashes

A liberal-minded website developer in Saudi Arabia had been reportedly sentenced to a jail term of seven years and 600 lashes for his website which urged people to share their opinion about the role of religion in the country.

Raif Badawi's website Free Saudi Liberals angered the Islamic authorities in the ultraconservative country which follows a strict form of Islam that includes harsh punishments for challenging customs, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

According to the report, the judge who imposed the sentences dropped charges of apostasy, which could have brought a death sentence to Badawi who has been held since June 2012.

Department spokeswoman, Jen Psaki said that US was deeply concerned by the sentence given to Badawi and added that when public speech is deemed offensive, be it via social media or any other means, the issue is best addressed through open dialogue and honest debate.

The report further added that hard-line Saudi clerics have raised repeated objections to social media, including one when a prominent Islamic scholar described Twitter as a path to Hell, but later withdrew the comment.