Jubeir speaks during the press conference in Berlin yesterday.

Agencies/Berlin

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir rejected yesterday international calls for his nation to release the blogger Raif Badawi from prison.
“We do not accept outside interference,” Jubeir told a press conference, adding that his nation’s judiciary will independently decide how to proceed with Badawi’s case.
Jubeir was speaking following talks with German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, which also focused on last month’s landmark nuclear accord with Iran.
The 31-year-old Badawi was arrested three years ago for criticising the Saudi religious police and sentenced to 10 years jail as well as 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam.
In January, he received the first 50 lashes in public. The lashes have now been suspended on health grounds.
“Of course we hope that there is a human solution (in the case),” said Steinmeier, who at the same time called on Saudi Arabia to take steps to improve human rights in the country, which is a key partner of the West in the Middle East.
Steinmeier also expressed hope that the nuclear deal with Iran would open up “new options” to help resolve the various conflicts in the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia is among the countries that have expressed serious doubts about Iran’s credibility when it comes to the nuclear agreement.
Both Steinmeier and Jubeir also called for new diplomatic efforts to help end the civil war that has engulfed Syria.
“Everyone knows that we need to arrive at a solution, before it results in the collapse of all institutions in Syria,” said Steinmeier.
The Saudi foreign minister is due to travel from Berlin to Moscow.
*Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens yesterday after he was convicted of murdering a relative, the interior ministry said.
Saleh al-Zahrani was convicted of shooting dead Attiya al-Zahrani during a dispute between them, said the statement carried by the official SPA news agency.