Saudi Arabia’s women’s rights activist al-Hathloul released
Saudi Arabia’s women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul has been released after almost three years in prison, her family said on Wednesday.
“Loujain is at home,” her sister, Lina, wrote on Twitter, along with a picture showing both women while holding a video call.
Al-Hathloul spent “1001 days in prison,” her sister added.
She was detained in May 2018 along with other activists.
Most of them were campaigning for the right to drive, which was granted one month later.
“Loujain is out. Loujain is free!,” al-Hathloul’s brother, Walid, also said.
“Loujain al-Hathloul’s release after a harrowing ordeal in prison in Saudi Arabia — lasting nearly three years — is an incredible relief, but long overdue,” Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Lynn Maalouf said in a statement.
She “should never have been forced to spend a single second behind bars. She has been vindictively punished for bravely defending women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, and for exercising her right to freedom of expression,” Maalouf added.
Amnesty described al-Hathloul as “the face of bravery.”
Last year, al-Hathloul’s case was transferred to the Specialised Criminal Court, which tries suspected terrorists.
The court sentenced her in December to five years and eight months in prison on charges of seeking to carry out foreign agendas and topple the political system in the kingdom.
Around two years and 10 months of the sentence was suspended.
Her release was expected on Thursday, as she has already served the rest of the sentence in detention.
The suspended sentence can be overturned if she was convicted of other crimes in the coming three years.
She was also given a travel ban for five years.
Al-Hathloul was convicted of committing acts criminalized under the anti-terrorism law, including incitement to change the political system and pursuing foreign agendas online to harm the public order.
Rights groups have accused the court of holding unfair trials and handing down lengthy jail sentences to human rights activists.
British-based ALQST for Human Rights, which focuses on human rights issues in Saudi Arabia, congratulated al-Hathloul on her release and called on Saudi authorities to overturn the conviction and lift the restrictions imposed on her.
“The long-awaited conditional release of Loujain is a testament to her and her family’s strength and courage, as well as the efforts of her advocates around the world, without which she might still be imprisoned,” ALQST’s executive director, Alaa al-Siddiq, said.
Al-Hathloul also campaigned to end the kingdom’s male guardianship system, which requires women to obtain the consent of a male relative for major decisions.
Some rules have been eased but the system is yet to be removed.
Al-Hathloul and others have reportedly been assaulted and tortured during interrogation, rights groups said.
The kingdom denies the claims and last year a Saudi court dismissed her torture lawsuit for lack of evidence. (dpa/NAN)
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