Raif Badawi case gets help from Lawyers Without Borders

A blogger who has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for criticizing Saudi Arabian clerics is getting some high-powered legal help.

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The Quebec Bar and Lawyers Without Borders Canada will be providing legal support in efforts to get Raif Badawi released from a Saudi jail.

Lawyers Without Borders said Thursday it has already begun establishing avenues it hopes will reunite him with his family.

It says it's getting involved following appeals from its members and at the request of Badawi's family.

Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar and their three children live in Sherbrooke, Que.

The first 50 lashes were carried out in early January, but he has not been flogged since then because of health concerns.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said the government's influence in the case is limited given that Badawi is not a Canadian citizen.