A prominent women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to nearly six years in prison under a “vague and broadly worded” counterterrorism law.
Loujain al Hathloul has been in prison since May 2018. Several stretches of that time have been served in solitary confinement, according to the Associated Press. Because of her previous time served and a suspension of two years and 10 months, Hathloul could be released as soon as March 2021.
Hathloul, 31, was charged with agitating for change, pursuing a foreign agenda, harming the public order using the internet, and cooperating with people who have committed crimes under other anti-terrorism laws, according to state media site Sabq. More than a dozen other women’s rights activists are awaiting trial in Saudi Arabia, but Hathloul’s case gained international attention in part because it was referred to the Specialized Criminal Court, which is assigned cases related to terrorism.
“She was charged, tried and convicted using counter-terrorism laws,” Lina al Hathloul said in a statement. “My sister is not a terrorist, she is an activist. To be sentenced for her activism for the very reforms that MBS and the Saudi kingdom so proudly tout is the ultimate hypocrisy.”
Public prosecutor and Loujain can still appeal.
— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) December 28, 2020
Hathloul has been a prominent activist even while behind bars. She advocated for a law passed in June that allowed women to obtain driver’s licenses, according to the Washington Post, and she called for the end of Saudi Arabia’s requirement that women be accompanied by a male guardian.
While in prison, she participated in hunger strikes and told Saudi judges that she and other imprisoned female activists were tortured and sexually assaulted by masked men during interrogations, according to the Associated Press. The women said they were beaten, waterboarded, and electrocuted.
Hathloul was offered early release if she recanted her allegations of assault, but she refused. A court dismissed her complaint.
A statement from her family said Hathloul would also be barred from leaving the country for five years and would have to serve three years on probation following the release. Hathloul’s sister tweeted that both the public prosecutor handling the case and Hathloul can appeal the decision.
Analysts said the case could be a key sticking point for the Biden administration. President-elect Joe Biden has condemned Saudi Arabia in the past as a “pariah” state with “very little redeeming social value,” and he has promised to “reassess” the United States’s relationship with Riyadh, according to Al Jazeera.
