After 1,001 days in torturous arbitrary detention, Loujain al-Hathloul has been granted supposed freedom by the Saudi Arabian government. Saudi Arabia’s treatment of al-Hathloul epitomises the global trend of whitewashing, perpetuated by repressive governments globally. These regimes have further exploited the Covid-19 pandemic to buttress their stigmatising portrayals and abuses of human rights defenders.

DISINFORMATION vs HUMAN RIGHTS

In retaliation to this global trend, human rights defenders alongside the international human rights community have harnessed the power of technology to propel dissent into arguably the biggest threat facing repressive regimes across the world. As a result, governments are increasingly keen to muzzle human rights defenders and censor reality.

Loujain al-Hathloul, imprisoned under spurious terrorism charges, remains one of Saudi Arabia’s most celebrated human rights defenders and women’s rights activists due to her instrumental role campaigning for women’s right to drive. In the face of the new Biden administration and increasing international condemnation, al-Hathloul’s conditional release is widely regarded as a governmental attempt to pay lip service to Western influences, with the aim of diluting the anti-human rights narrative their country is increasingly defined by.

During her three years in prison, al-Hathloul became a symbol of Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on any form of protest. Her trial was elevated from criminal court to a court specialising in terrorism cases, her dissent framed as a threat to national security. To be clear, al-Hathloul is not free in the true meaning of the word. She is on probation for three years, banned from travel, and threatened with more prison time if she does not stay silent.

Cases like al-Hathloul’s are common and trans-continental. The assassination attempt and subsequent arrest of Russian President Putin’s most prominent critic, Alexei Navalny, visibly demonstrates a similar "jail one person to intimidate millions" approach. Following Navalny’s detainment, the Russian government arrested over 5,000 protestors, meeting the liberal spirits of protestors with a liberal dosage of violence. Vladimir Putin is one world leader at the forefront of disinformation, putting into law measures to curb the freedom of human rights defenders and journalists alike who dare speak in dissent.

COVID-19 FACILITATES REPRESSION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS 

Corrupt leaders are enacting harsh laws challenging human rights work under the guise of stopping disinformation surrounding the Covid-19 pandemic, obfuscating the true scope and aim of the draconian laws. The opportunistic weaponisation of the pandemic by governments include methods such as: declaring a state of emergency to bypass the decision-making process, increasing surveillance technology to track human rights defenders instead of the virus, introducing more restrictive immigration policies, and exposing human rights defenders to unsanitary conditions while detained.

In Hong Kong, pro-democracy activists were arrested for their alleged role in “organising and participating” in 2019 demonstrations. With the public unable to gather and protest while the rest of the world was distracted by the sweeping pandemic, Hong Kong authorities were able to arbitrarily detain several prominent activists that had been speaking out in dissent for years.  

In Bahrain, eight months after the outbreak of Covid-19, prisoners at Jau Prison have not been provided personal protective equipment (PPE) or sanitising products, while severe overcrowding prevents the enactment of social distancing policies. The situation is particularly treacherous for elderly human rights defenders with underlying chronic health problems.

While the world struggles to adapt to a new reality, repressive governments are abusing vulnerabilities brought on by Covid-19, using the pandemic to increase the ways in which they can silence dissent. The atrocities of this pandemic must not be manipulated as a smokescreen used against human rights defenders, who are needed now more than ever.

Leah is a Master's student at University College Dublin, studying International Relations. She has a background in human rights advocacy in the Middle East and North Africa and hopes to pursue a career as a journalist focusing on international human rights issues.

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