Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court is set to review the case of a liberal blogger sentenced to 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam.
According to the BBC, Blogger Raif Badawi's wife said the referral, made before he was flogged 50 times last Friday, gave him hope that officials would end his punishment.
Badawi was temporarily spared the second round of lashing due to medical reasons.
Badawi, who founded the online forum Liberal Saudi Network to encourage debate on religious and political matters in Saudi Arabia in 2008, was arrested in Jeddah and charged with "insulting Islam through electronic channels" and "going beyond the realm of obedience" in 2012.
The punishment of Badawi, who was also fined and sentenced to 10 years in prison, has caused international outcry. Governments across the world have condemned the same, the report added.