Skip to content
Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Primary Menu Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

Hindi News, हिंदी समाचार, Samachar, Breaking News, Latest Khabar – Pratirodh

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us
  • Featured

Saudi Woman Activist Freed After Nearly 3 Years In Jail

Feb 12, 2021 | Pratirodh Bureau

FILE PHOTO: Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul is seen in this undated picture

Saudi authorities on Wednesday released prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul after nearly three years in detention, her family said, as the kingdom comes under renewed US pressure over its human rights record.

Hathloul, 31, was arrested in May 2018 with about a dozen other women activists just weeks before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on female drivers, a reform they had long campaigned for, triggering a torrent of international criticism.

The release of the activist, who is still under probation and is barred from leaving Saudi Arabia, sparked euphoria among her siblings who had launched a vigorous campaign overseas for her freedom in a major embarrassment for the kingdom’s rulers.

“Loujain is at home!!!!!!!” her sister Lina al-Hathloul wrote on Twitter.

“At home after 1001 days in prison,” she added, along with a picture of the smiling activist with streaks of grey hair.

US President Joe Biden, who has pledged to intensify scrutiny of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s human rights record, welcomed the decision to release her, saying it was “the right thing to do”.

The US State Department said she should never have been jailed.

“Promoting and advocating for women’s rights and other human rights should never be criminalised,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who strongly called for Hathloul’s release last year, welcomed the news, tweeting that he “shared the relief of her family”.

In late December, a Saudi court handed Hathloul a prison term of five years and eight months for terrorism-related crimes, but her family said a partially suspended sentence paved the way for her early release.

The women’s rights activist was convicted of inciting regime change and seeking to disrupt public order, in what her family denounced as a “sham” trial. They also alleged she experienced sexual harassment and torture in detention, claims dismissed by the court.

The verdict, however, was a “face-saving exit strategy” for the Saudi government after it came under severe international pressure to free her, a source close to Hathloul’s family told AFP at the time.

Still, the court has imposed a five-year travel ban on Hathloul, her relatives said.

“Loujain is at home, but she is not free. The fight is not over,” Lina said.

BIDEN’S ‘IMPACT’

Saudi authorities have not officially commented on her detention, trial or release.

“Loujain al-Hathloul’s release after a harrowing ordeal in prison in Saudi Arabia — lasting nearly three years — is an incredible relief, but long overdue,” said Amnesty International’s Lynn Maalouf.

“Nothing can make up for the cruel treatment she has suffered, nor the injustice of her imprisonment.”

After the kingdom largely got a free pass under previous president Donald Trump, Biden is expected to push it to free dual US-Saudi citizens, activists and royal family members, many of whom are detained without any formal charges.

“Elections matter. The arrival of a Biden administration that has put human rights and values at the top of its Saudi agenda is having an impact,” Kristin Diwan, of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, told AFP.

“More needs to be done before this could be seen as progress in terms of human rights. Saudi Arabia has not credibly investigated the torture allegations, and has not dismissed charges against Loujain.”

After being tried in Riyadh’s criminal court, Hathloul’s case was transferred in November to the anti-terrorism court, which campaigners say is used to silence critical voices under the cover of fighting terrorism.

Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan subsequently told AFP that Hathloul was accused of contacting “unfriendly” states and providing classified information, but her family said no evidence to support the allegations had been put forward.

While some women activists detained along with Hathloul have been provisionally released, many others remain imprisoned on what rights groups describe as opaque charges.

The detentions have cast a spotlight on the human rights record of the kingdom, an absolute monarchy which has also faced intense criticism over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in its Istanbul consulate.

Tags: human rights, Loujain al-Hathloul, Pratirodh, Saudi Arabia, women’s rights

Continue Reading

Previous Rising Waters Disrupt Rescue Bid In U’khand Tunnel After Avalanche
Next Chhattisgarh Rejects Covaxin Approved Without Efficacy Data

More Stories

  • Featured

The Hidden Waters Of The Himalayas Are Key To Mitigating Disasters

2 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Over 7,800 Killed In Turkey-Syria Quake: “Kids Freezing From Cold”

3 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Local Admin Humiliating People, BJP Is Turning J&K Into Af: Lone, Mufti

17 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • The Hidden Waters Of The Himalayas Are Key To Mitigating Disasters
  • Over 7,800 Killed In Turkey-Syria Quake: “Kids Freezing From Cold”
  • Local Admin Humiliating People, BJP Is Turning J&K Into Af: Lone, Mufti
  • Over 2,000 Deaths: Explaining The Turkey-Syria Earthquakes
  • How Much Plastic Are We Ingesting Anyway?
  • There Can Be No Compromise On Hate Speech, Says SC
  • Budget A ‘Silent Strike’ On Poor By Modi Govt: Sonia Gandhi
  • Why Did BJP Talk To Musharraf, Asks Tharoor After Tweet Backlash
  • Iran Acknowledges ‘Tens Of Thousands’ Held In Mahsa Amini Protests
  • Death And Dying: How Different Cultures Deal With Grief & Mourning
  • Jamia Nagar Violence: Court Says The Accused Were Made ‘Scapegoats’
  • Originality Is Capacity To Bring Freshness To Old Narratives: Gurnah
  • Adani Rise Outcome Of PM Modi’s Patronage: CPI (M)
  • How A United South Asia Can Beat Air Pollution
  • Ban On BBC Docu: SC Directs Govt To Produce Original Records
  • Confronting Himalayan Water Woes Before It Is Too Late
  • No Action Against Hate Speeches Despite Our Orders, Laments SC
  • Budget ’23-’24 Has Very Little For Marginalised Sections: Rights Groups
  • Limiting Global Warming To 1.5 Degrees Is Not Plausible: Report
  • I Struggled: Siddique Kappan After Release

Search

Main Links

  • Home
  • Newswires
  • Politics & Society
  • The New Feudals
  • World View
  • Arts And Aesthetics
  • For The Record
  • About Us

Related Stroy

  • Featured

The Hidden Waters Of The Himalayas Are Key To Mitigating Disasters

2 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Over 7,800 Killed In Turkey-Syria Quake: “Kids Freezing From Cold”

3 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Local Admin Humiliating People, BJP Is Turning J&K Into Af: Lone, Mufti

17 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

Over 2,000 Deaths: Explaining The Turkey-Syria Earthquakes

20 hours ago Pratirodh Bureau
  • Featured

How Much Plastic Are We Ingesting Anyway?

1 day ago Pratirodh Bureau

Recent Posts

  • The Hidden Waters Of The Himalayas Are Key To Mitigating Disasters
  • Over 7,800 Killed In Turkey-Syria Quake: “Kids Freezing From Cold”
  • Local Admin Humiliating People, BJP Is Turning J&K Into Af: Lone, Mufti
  • Over 2,000 Deaths: Explaining The Turkey-Syria Earthquakes
  • How Much Plastic Are We Ingesting Anyway?
Copyright © All rights reserved. | CoverNews by AF themes.