Saudi activist Loujain Al-Hathloul 'unable to leave country' despite travel ban ending

The family of Loujain Al-Hathloul said that she is "unable to leave the country" despite a travel ban on the prominent Saudi activist recently ending.

Hathloul, a renowned campaigner for women’s rights in the Gulf kingdom, was subject to a five-year travel ban when she was detained for her activist work in 2018.

Following global uproar, Al-Hathloul was released from prison in February 2021 while her travel ban should have expired two-and-a-half years later.

Her sister Lina, who lives in Belgium, drew attention to her sister's inability to leave the kingdom, saying "the period of her travel ban" has ended.

My sister Loujain should now be able to travel given that the period of her travel ban has ended.

However, she is still not allowed to leave the country.

I hope this is only an administrative mistake and not further escalation.

I’m hopeful I’ll see her & my family soon♥️

— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) October 4, 2023

"I hope this is only an administrative mistake and not further escalation," she said on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

"I’m hopeful I’ll see her & my family soon."

Hathloul’s older sister, Alia, expressed similar concerns: "I waited patiently for September 13th with great enthusiasm as it was legally the last day of Loujain’s travel ban."

"Unfortunately, during the past few weeks, every government agency has sent us to another [as we] pursue the lifting of the travel ban despite the court’s clear decision and [the fact that this] does not require a complicated process,"

Although Al-Hathloul's travel ban came to an end over three weeks ago, her family only spoke publicly about the issue this week.

Al-Hathloul was sentenced over five years ago under Saudi Arabia's so-called "counter-terrorism" law in May 2018 and released two and a half years later. Campaigners close to the activist say she was tortured and subject to rape threats while in prison.

She is known for her work for the "Women to Drive Movement", a campaign spearheaded by multiple Saudi female activists and aimed at pressuring Riyadh to lift a driving ban on women. This ban was officially lifted shortly after Al-Hathloul was detained, although the activist remained behind bars.

The 34-year-old has also campaigned against the male guardianship system, which requires women to obtain permission from male relatives for routine activities such as starting a job, travelling overseas, or getting married.

Al-Hathloul has been acknowledged globally for her activism, having receiving the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize in 2020. She was also named one of Time Magazine's Most Influential People in 2019.

She was also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and 2020.