Prominent Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul sentenced to five years in jail

Women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was convicted of "various activities prohibited by the anti-terrorism law", and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

28 December, 2020

A Saudi court sentenced Loujain al-Hathloul to five years and eight months [Twitter]

A Saudi court on Monday sentenced leading women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to five years and eight months in prison for terrorism-related crimes, according to local media allowed to attend her trial.

Hathloul, 31, was convicted of "various activities prohibited by the anti-terrorism law", the pro-government online outlet Sabq and other media cited the court as saying.

She was charged with seeking to change the Saudi political system and harming national security, local media said.

The court suspended two years and 10 months of her sentence, or time served since Hathloul was arrested on May 15, 2018, local media said.

The Nobel-prize nominated campaigner, who has allegedly been tortured in prison in the kingdom, successfully campaigned to win Saudi women the right to drive.

UN human rights experts have called the charges against Hathloul spurious, and along with leading rights groups and lawmakers in the US and Europe have called for her release.

The detentions of women activitsts occured shortly before and after the kingdom lifted a ban on women driving, which many activists had long championed, as part of reforms introduced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that were also accompanied by a crackdown on dissent and an anti-corruption purge.

Hathloul's sentencing came just nearly three weeks after a Riyadh court jailed US-Saudi physician Walid al-Fitaihi for six years, despite US pressure to release him, in a case rights groups have called politically motivated.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected