Savage ruling - Barbaric sentence confirmed

SAUDI ARABIA is one of those countries that is so very wealthy that it does not really have to bother too much with what the rest of the world thinks about it. It can, metaphorically at least, smile at the world’s opprobrium and buy another string of racehorses to get over the slight.

The country, mostly desert that, without oil, would be as influential as, say, Tajikistan, has far-reaching influence and social mores that the civilised world regards as medieval. It stands accused of being the source of much of the funding supporting radical Islamic terrorists. Its decision to uphold a sentence of 1,000 lashes and 10 years in jail on blogger Raif Badawi confirms the society remains in the grip of a kind of barbarism outlawed in decent societies for centuries.

Foolishly we still import something around 90% of our energy needs so, like it or not, we may not be as free as we might wish to suggest sanctions to end the floggings and beheadings. That a portion of the billions we spend on energy every year ends up in Saudi Arabia is another strong argument for alternative energy projects.