Fr Bill Schwartz has been speaking to Premier about the case of 74 year old Brit Karl Andree, who was sent to prison last year after being caught with homemade wine in his car.
A further part of his punishment included being given 350 lashes.
His family claimed he may not survive the lashes.
His story has hit the spotlight in the UK, with Downing Street stepping in. A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: "This is an extremely concerning case. We have been providing consular assistance to Mr Andree and to his family since he was first arrested and we have raised the case repeatedly in recent weeks.
"Given the ongoing concerns and the fact we would like to see more progress, the PM is writing today to the Saudis to further raise the case on the back of the action that has already been taken by the Foreign Office."
But Fr Bill, who is based in Qatar, suggested the British reporting on this situation could be counteractive.
He said: "One of the reasons we are not successful in advocacy in places like Saudi Arabia is that we cannot challenge them unless we get our facts correct.
"If we distort the facts or if we don't understand them then they can dismiss the advocacy.
"In this case the sentence was one year's imprisonment and 350 lashes upon completion. The lashes are never administered all at once...they're over a seven week period."
Fr Bill is calling for a greater understanding of the judicial system in Saudi Arabia in order to make sure we can properly stand up for the oppressed.
Listen to his full interview with Premier's Marcus Jones here: