Loujain al-Hathloul and other Saudi Arabian women’s rights activists were arrested by the authorities in 2018. After being badly abused and subjected to an unfair trial, Loujain al-Hathloul now stands accused as a terrorist while her health deteriorates, even as the Saudi government hosts the G20 Summit.
ARBITRARY ARREST
In May 2018, advocates who were peacefully protesting for women’s right to drive were arbitrarily arrested by Saudi authorities, shortly before Saudi Arabia lifted its ban on women driving.
Among those detained are Nassima al-Sada, Samar Badawi, Nouf Abdulaziz, Maya’a al-Zahrani, Eman al-Nafjan and Loujain al-Hathloul. The latter is one of the most recognizable advocates for the right of women to drive.
Loujain al-Hathloul has been a key campaigner against the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia that prevents women from traveling abroad, getting married or getting a passport without permission from a male guardian. She was also previously detained for trying to cross the Saudi border by car.
Although the reasons for the activists’ detention are still not clear, Saudi news channels reported that they were detained because of their contacts and conspiracies with foreign powers, endangering national security.
INHUMAN DETENTION AND UNFAIR TRIAL
The reported inhuman conditions of the women’s detainment have also been alarming, as in the case of Loujain al-Hathloul, whose case has become the center of calls to release the activists. According to information from her family, Ms Hathloul has been held in isolation and starved all of human contact since her incarceration. Furthermore, she has reportedly been subjected to electric shocks and to punishments, including whipping and sexual violence.
The Saudi government has rejected the torture charges, although the family claimed that the government proposed to set Loujain free if she had denied having been abused.
On March 2019, her first trial took place at the Riyadh Criminal Court. No journalist or diplomat was allowed to attend the closed-door session, with the exception of the activists’ families. According to ALQST, a UK-based Saudi rights organisation, the activists have been charged with cybercrimes on the basis of “a string of alleged confessions that the women had been in contact with human rights organisations”. This is made worse by the severe violation of the right to fair trial. Loujain and the other activists have been tried without any access to a lawyer, despite a criminal proceeding that may see them sentenced to up to five years in jail.
LOUJAIN’S WEAKENING AS THE TRIAL MOVES TO TERRORISM COURT
On 26 October 2020, after years of unlawful detention and inhuman treatment including sleep deprivation, Loujain began a hunger strike against the restrictions on her right to maintain contact with family as well as the conditions of her detention.
Following the start of her hunger strike, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) raised concerns over her physical and mental health, and called for King Salman to use his power to immediately release her from detention. However, despite the new women’s rights initiatives of Saudi Arabia since it assumed the G20 Presidency, there has been nothing to report on the case of Loujain al-Hathloul.
Infact, recent news signals something worse. Ms. Hathloul’s trial has been transferred for “lack of jurisdiction” from the ordinary criminal court to the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), which was set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases. Besides the fact that after three years Loujain still does not have any evidence of the accusation against her, she has now also been titled a terrorist.
When she appeared before a Saudi judge for the first time in more than a year to find out that her case was moving to the SCC, her sister Lina al-Hathloul claimed that Loujain was weak and exhausted, and that her body was shaking to the point where she could not hold her papers.
SAUDI ARABIA’S G20 SUMMIT PRESIDENCY DESPITE ABUSES
It is upsetting and disturbing that the latest event happened approximately around the time when Saudi Arabia was hosting the virtual G-20 Summit dedicated to women’s empowerment, and was launching a global PR campaign to disguise its unwillingness to issue reforms on human rights and democracy.
Saudi Arabia hosted the G20 summit in the face of calls for participating countries to boycott the summit due to human rights concerns. These include the macabre murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, the ongoing conflict in Yemen – in which Saudia Arabia plays a leading role, and Loujain’s case. With reference to the latter, the Minister of State for Foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, responded by defending the independence of the kingdom’s judiciary and stated that Loujain’s arrest had nothing to do with advocating for women’s right to drive, but stemmed from her willingness to support entities outside Saudi Arabia.
Amnesty International was one of those who called for action against Sausi Arabia, and urged the G-20 leaders to advocate for the immediate and unconditional release of the activists. Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa said, “for Saudi authorities the G20 Summit is critical: it is a moment for them to promote their reform agenda to the world, and show their country is open for business. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s real reformers are behind bars”.
Martina holds a Bachelor’s in Communication and a Master's in International Relations. She has experience working as news reporter and press officer and her interests focus on equality issues and immigration laws. Her goal is to provide proper education on these matters.