Raif Badawi is a Saudi writer, dissident and activist, and creator of the website Free Saudi Liberals, He has been awarded the laureate of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2015

Badawi was arrested in 2012 on a charge of "insulting Islam through electronic channels" and brought to court on several charges, including apostasy. In 2013, he was convicted on several charges and sentenced to seven years in prison, torture and 600 lashes. In 2014 his sentence was increased to 10 years in prison, 1,000 lashes, and a fine.

On 11 March 2022, his family had reported that he had been released from prison after 10 years. However, he is still subject to a 10-year-travel ban.

The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named in honour of the Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded each year by the European Parliament. It was set up in 1988 to honour individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms.