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James Fenton awarded PEN Pinter Prize, shares with imprisoned Saudi author Raif Badawi

James Fenton (Photo: Gerrit Serné)

James Fenton (photo: Gerrit Serné)

James Fenton, the British poet, journalist and literary critic, has been named the 2015 recipient of the PEN Pinter Prize.

The prize is awarded each year to a British author, and shared with an international writer who has been persecuted for sharing their beliefs. Fenton will share his award with Raif Badawi, a Saudi Arabian writer and founder of Free Saudi Liberals, an online forum of politics and religion in Saudi Arabia. Badawi has been imprisoned since 2012 and was punished publicly with 50 lashes earlier this year on the square in front of the Al-Dschafali mosque in Jeddah. Haidar has been fighting for Badawi’s release.