Cross-posted at the Huffington Post

Back in May of last year, I came across a story that no one was talking about. Over the years, we’ve all heard accounts overseas about prisoners being held without due process, or the use of severe and often times disturbing punishment for crimes that would barely get you a slap on the wrist in America. It’s upsetting whenever you hear it, and this story was not unlike those that we have heard in the past, except for the fact that the press was not writing the story of Sabri Bogday.

The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), a group that operates as an education and charitable organization aimed at promoting Turkish causes, arts and people, brought this story to the forefront and as the facts of this case were detailed, the reality of what this man was facing became and more and more upsetting. Here’s the quick synopsis:

Sabri Bogday, a Turkish national, was sentenced to death by a Saudi court on March 31, 2008 for allegedly cursing the name of God in his barber shop during an argument with a client. Reportedly, Bogday was not represented by a lawyer in court and did not have access to a translator. He denied the charges, but the Court ruled that Bogday committed a crime of apostasy, defection from Islam, under Saudi laws and regarded the testimony by the Saudi client and an Egyptian neighbor as sufficient evidence for the death sentence. The Mekka appeals court upheld the lower court sentence on May 1. Until December of 2008 Bogday was held in prison facing imminent execution, and his only hope was to receive a pardon from the King of Saudi Arabia. Bogday has 2 year old child and lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for over 11 years.

When this situation first surfaced, the only English language reference I could find to it was from the Human Rights Watch website, where they posted a press release calling for Bogday’s release. No international news service, no U.S. journalist, no bloggers for that matter were writing about the story for an English audience.

So, I took to the Huffington Post and wrote a piece about Sabri Bogday and the situation he faced. I asked readers of Huffington Post to reach out to reporters, bloggers and others to help tell this story. I, along with some friends, pitched the post out to reporters who cover international affairs and I circulated the story around political circles here in Washington, D.C.

As a result, a few outlets did pick up on the story — specifically the Los Angeles Times and United Press International and eventually the story got some traction.

In November of last year, I received a press release from TCA announcing that Bogday received a pardon from execution in Saudi Arabia and that his release from a Saudi prison was imminent.

Yesterday, World Bulletin posted this story: Turkish man in S Arabia returning to Turkey after pardon to their website. Here’s the text:

A Turkish citizen who was sentenced to capital punishment in Saudi Arabia but released later, is returning to Turkey.

The Turkish Embassy in Riyadh said on Monday that Sabri Bogday would return to Turkey by the first plane from Jeddah to Istanbul.

Bogday was released after a court in Jeddah accepted his repentance early in January.

Bogday was arrested after a quarrel with a neighbor in 2007 and sentenced to beheading on May 1, 2008 on charges of “swearing at the God and the Prophet”.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held telephone conversations with King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and asked the King to pardon him.

While this story is unique, it’s not uncommon. Throughout the world, there are Sabri Bogday’s sitting in dark prisons, awaiting uncertain fates and at the mercy of a justice system that lacks justice and due process.

I have no way of knowing for sure whether or not this story could have ended up differently had it not been for TCA, the Huffington Post and the response from readers, but I do know that the power of grassroots journalism and blogs as a platform to spread news that is missed by the mainstream media is a powerful tool in our arsenal of spreading fairness and in some cases, freedom throughout the world. We never know when our action will make a difference, but in this case, I believe the Huffington Post may have had a hand in saving a life.

Back in May of last year, I came across a story that no one was talking about. Over the years, we've all heard accounts overseas about prisoners being held without due process, or the use of severe and often times disturbing punishment for crimes that would barely get you a slap on the wrist in America. It's upsetting whenever you hear it, and this story was not unlike those that we have heard in the past, except for the fact that the press was not writing the story of Sabri Bogday.

The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), a group that operates as an education and charitable organization aimed at promoting Turkish causes, arts and people, brought this story to the forefront and as the facts of this case were detailed, the reality of what this man was facing became and more and more upsetting. Here's the quick synopsis:

Sabri Bogday, a Turkish national, was sentenced to death by a Saudi court on March 31, 2008 for allegedly cursing the name of God in his barber shop during an argument with a client. Reportedly, Bogday was not represented by a lawyer in court and did not have access to a translator. He denied the charges, but the Court ruled that Bogday committed a crime of apostasy, defection from Islam, under Saudi laws and regarded the testimony by the Saudi client and an Egyptian neighbor as sufficient evidence for the death sentence. The Mekka appeals court upheld the lower court sentence on May 1. Until December of 2008 Bogday was held in prison facing imminent execution, and his only hope was to receive a pardon from the King of Saudi Arabia. Bogday has 2 year old child and lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for over 11 years.

When this situation first surfaced, the only English language reference I could find to it was from the Human Rights Watch website, where they posted a press release calling for Bogday's release. No international news service, no U.S. journalist, no bloggers for that matter were writing about the story for an English audience.

So, I took to the Huffington Post and wrote a piece about Sabri Bogday and the situation he faced. I asked readers of Huffington Post to reach out to reporters, bloggers and others to help tell this story. I, along with some friends, pitched the post out to reporters who cover international affairs and I circulated the story around political circles here in Washington, D.C.

As a result, a few outlets did pick up on the story -- specifically the Los Angeles Times and United Press International and eventually the story got some traction.

In November of last year, I received a press release from TCA announcing that Bogday received a pardon from execution in Saudi Arabia and that his release from a Saudi prison was imminent.

Yesterday, World Bulletin posted this story: Turkish man in S Arabia returning to Turkey after pardon to their website. Here's the text:

A Turkish citizen who was sentenced to capital punishment in Saudi Arabia but released later, is returning to Turkey.

The Turkish Embassy in Riyadh said on Monday that Sabri Bogday would return to Turkey by the first plane from Jeddah to Istanbul.

Bogday was released after a court in Jeddah accepted his repentance early in January.

Bogday was arrested after a quarrel with a neighbor in 2007 and sentenced to beheading on May 1, 2008 on charges of "swearing at the God and the Prophet".

Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held telephone conversations with King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia and asked the King to pardon him.

While this story is unique, it's not uncommon. Throughout the world, there are Sabri Bogday's sitting in dark prisons, awaiting uncertain fates and at the mercy of a justice system that lacks justice and due process.

I have no way of knowing for sure whether or not this story could have ended up differently had it not been for TCA, the Huffington Post and the response from readers, but I do know that the power of grassroots journalism and blogs as a platform to spread news that is missed by the mainstream media is a powerful tool in our arsenal of spreading fairness and in some cases, freedom throughout the world. We never know when our action will make a difference, but in this case, I believe the Huffington Post may have had a hand in saving a life.

-Peter Slutsky

Rob Schiffmann, an old friend of the DoubleSpeak gang and a great songwriter in NYC sent along this little tune he put together after watching the inauguration last week.

You may remember another song that Rob wrote from a past episode of DoubleSpeakShow. You can check out his band, The Hillary Step (no, not Hillary Clinton) here.

This is the first time I have sat down at a computer in the last couple days, but I wanted to share with you all the best ABC Breaking News email I have ever received:

Breaking News from ABCNEWS.com:

Former President George W. Bush Departs Washington en Route to Texas [1:22 p.m. ET]

For those of you who will be in Washington, D.C. for the inauguration, here is the full schedule via WashingtonPost.com:

Barack Obama’s free concert at the Lincoln Memorial will begin at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, and people will be allowed to begin gathering at 8 a.m. that morning, the Presidential Inaugural Committee said today. The event features a wide array of musical talent, including Bruce Springsteen and Beyonce.

The public can enter the grounds through several checkpoints:
Public gates open at 8:00 AM at the following locations:

- Public Entry A: Constitution Avenue at 19 th Street

- Public Entry B: Constitution Avenue at Virginia Avenue

- Public Entry C: 17 th Street at North Elm Walk

- Public Entry D: 17 th Street at South Elm Walk

- Public Entry E: Independence Avenue at the DC War Memorial

The Reflecting Pool area, JFK Hockey Fields and Constitution Gardens are open to the public and space will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. A number of items are prohibited at the concert: firearms, ammunition, explosives, weapons, aerosols, supports for signs, packages, coolers, thermal/glass containers, backpacks, bags/signs exceeding 6″ x 4″ x 8″, laser pointers, animals other than guide dogs, bikes.

The inaugural committee also released details about start times and other information regarding official inaugural balls and other events. Read the rest of the release after the jump.

Lineup of events from the Presidential Inaugural Committee

Read the rest of this entry »

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T-minus 7 days.

that Ohio Senator George Voinovich (R) will not seek re-election in 2010. Here’s the story.

Obama Countdown
created by James Miller

is reporting that Gov. Gregoire will not be tapped as Commerce Secretary. Read his posts here.

reports that Gov. Chris Gregoire of Washington is “Out of state, but her office won’t say where she is. Spokesman Pearse Edwards said that Gregoire will be making an announcement Tuesday morning, and that no further information would be released before then.” Given that Gov. Bill Richardson has abandoned his nomination at Commerce, could it be that Gregoire is headed to D.C. for an announcement? Stay tuned to DoubleSpeak for more on this developing story.