Manama: Saudi Arabia said that it would not tolerate any abuse of its sovereignty or interference in its domestic affairs in the name of human rights.

In its first official reaction to international reports on the case of a Saudi citizen who was last year sentenced to 10 years in prison and to 1,000 lashes, the foreign ministry said: “The Kingdom expresses astonishment at what is being written in some media outlets with regards to the case of Saudi citizen Raef Mohammad Badawi and the verdict issued against him.”

“The Kingdom strongly disapproves the reports on Badawi by these media outlets. The Kingdom regrets the excessive attack by these media against it and its judicial system and rejects any interference in its internal affairs,” the statement, carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), said.

Saudi Arabia does not tolerate any impingement on its sovereignty or infringement on the independence and integrity of its judiciary, it added late on Saturday.

“Judges have absolute power in passing verdicts, and all cases are dealt with impartially and without discrimination or exception. The Kingdom does not accept any infringement in the name of human rights, especially since its constitution is based on the Islamic Shariah that has guaranteed humans their rights and preserved their lives, possessions, honour and dignity,” it said.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is among the first countries to support human rights and to respect all international covenants in conformity with Shariah. Despite such obvious efforts, some international parties and some media have deplorably voided human rights principles of their noble meaning and opted to attempt to politicize issues and attack the sovereign rights of countries.

"In their attack, they use criteria that are at best described as highly selective and double-standard in order to serve political ends.”

Saudi Arabia cannot at all tolerate or accept such stances, the statement said.

Badawi, who received his first 50 lashes outside a mosque in the Red Sea city of Jeddah in January, was arrested in 2012 and charged with "insulting Islam through the use of electronic media".

The rounds for the remaining 950 lashes over 19 weeks had been postponed reportedly upon recommendations from doctors.