Loujain Al-Hathloul, a feminist and activist, was at last released from prison on February 10, 2021. She was arrested in 2019 for threatening national security in her fight for women’s rights. International organizations and foreign States all greeted the news with relief, hoping that the Saudi Arabian government will guarantee a greater respect towards human rights. WHO IS LOUJAIN AL-HATHLOUL?
Loujain Al-Hathloul is a women’s rights activist, known mostly for her participation in the Saudi Women Driving Campaign, organized by the Women to Drive Movement. She advocated for the right for Saudi women to drive, against the long-term ban (then lifted on June 24, 2018), and postedvideos of herself driving in 2013. (Frontline Defenders, 2014).
She also offered a fundamental contribution to lift the “Wilayah” male guardianship system, empowering Saudi Arabian women to travel abroad without obtaining permission from a male guardian, to apply for passports and to register their marriages and divorces since August 2019. (Gill, 2020) Ms Al-Hathloul was abducted while driving in the United Arab Emirates in March 2018. She was brought back to Saudi Arabia on a private plane, arrested and put along with other activists in a secret prison. (Al-Sharif, 2019)
While incarcerated, Hathloul was awarded with multiple prizes, including 2019 PEN America award. (Tamara Qiblawi, 2021)
ARREST AND COURT CASE Ms Al-Hathloul, along with other ten female activists, was put on trial at a criminal court in March 2019. However, while she was incarcerated, her case was repeatedly postponed. After enduring a hunger strike protesting her detention condition in October 2020, the following November her trial was passed to a Specialised Criminal Court for terrorism cases. (Doucet, 2021). Finally, on December 28 the court find her guilty and sentenced to five years and eight months in prison for threatening national security, "inciting change to the basic ruling regime" and "serving a foreign agenda inside the kingdom by using the internet with the objective of damaging public order"(Gill, 2020) Her family stated that she was held incommunicado for the first three months, that she and other three women had been tortured with electronic shocks and whippings and that they had been sexually harassed. Later, the same information was reported by human right organizations. (Gardner, 2021). Saudi authorities denied the alleged tortures, which were accordingly dismissed by the appellate court. The charges were grounded in the breach of art 6 of the Anti-Cybercrime Law, which “punishes the production and transmission of material deemed to impinge on public order, religious values, public morals and private life”, since according to the authorities Ms Al-Hathloul “communicated with people and entities hostile to the King”, “cooperated with journalists and media institutions hostile to the King”, “provided financial support to foreign adversaries” and “recruited persons for information detrimental to the security of the Kingdom (United Nations, 2020)
Finally, Loujain Al-Hathloul was released on February 10, 2021, two years and ten months prior the end of her sentence. However, such suspension would be revoked if she “commits any crimes” within the next three years. Moreover, she’s subjected to a travel ban, prohibiting her to leave Saudi Arabia for five years. (Gardner, 2021) INTERNATIONAL REACTION Since its beginning, Loujain Al-Hathloul’s story contributed to increase the international pression on Saudi authorities. On several occasions they have been the target of accusations based on the disregard for human rights, especially after the death of the dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi, whose assassination has been linked to Mohammed Bin Salman, crown prince and de facto leader of the kingdom. Her release could stabilise the political situation, easing the tension between Riyadh and Washington: the newly elected president Joe Biden has already announced his intention to pursue apolicy committed to a thorough respect of human rights marking a departure from former President Donald Trump’s vision. (Redazione ANSA, 2021) Only a week before Hathloul’s liberation, the White House called on Saudi Arabia to release political prisoners, including women’s rights activists. A similar reaction has spread all through Europe. French President Emmanuel Macron added in a tweet: "I welcome the release of Loujain al-Hathloul and share the relief of her family." (Tamara Qiblawi, 2021) Elizabeth Broderick, the Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls, affirmed that “the government of Saudi Arabia has a primary responsibility and duty to protect, promote and implement all human rights and fundamental freedoms and cannot turn a blind eye to the arbitrary detention and allegation of torture of a woman whose only reason for imprisonment was to advance women’s rights. [...] . Defending human rights can never beconsidered a threat to national security,” (United Nations, 2020). UN experts say that even though the government reformed some of the discriminatory legislation since 2018, including the drive ban,in practice no such difference can be found: human rights are still breached on a regular basis. Amnesty International has intervened as well, calling on the Saudi Arabian authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all human rights defenders and prisoners of conscience detained solely for demanding reforms and defending basic rights.
Bibliografia
Al-Sharif, M. (2019, April 10). We Finally Won the Right to Drive in Saudi Arabia. But the Kingdom's War on Women Is Only Getting Worse. Time. Retrieved 02 19, 2021, from https://time.com/5567330/saudi-arabia-women-rights-drive/
Doucet, L. (2021, February 10). Loujain al-Hathloul: Saudi women's rights activist released from prison. BBC. Retrieved February 17, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-56012650
Frontline Defenders. (2014, December 11). CASE HISTORY: LUJAIN AL-HATHLOL. Frontline Defenders. Retrieved 02 17, 2021, from https://www.frontlinedefenders.org/en/case/case-history-lujain-al- hathlol
Gardner, F. (2021, February 11). Loujain al-Hathloul: Released Saudi activist's family 'want real justice'. BBC. Retrieved february 19, 2021, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east- 56023796#:~:text=Ms%20Hathloul%20was%20released%20on,during%20her%20alleged%20tortur e%20sessions.
Gill, M. (2020, December 30). Explained: Who is Loujain al-Hathloul, the Saudi activist sentenced to nearly six years in prison? The Indian Express. Tratto il giorno 02 2021, 17 da https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-who-loujain-al-hathloul-the-saudi-activist- sentenced-six-years-prison-7125023/
Redazione ANSA. (2021, February 10). Liberata l'attivista per i diritti delle saudite. ANSA. Retrieved 02 15, 2021, from https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/mondo/mediooriente/2021/02/10/liberata-lattivista- per-i-diritti-delle-saudite_9c6b0c4f-e8c0-4da4-bb09- 0db08347933b.html#:~:text=Loujain%20fu%20condannata%20per%20la%20campagna%20sulle%2 0donne%20al%20volante&text=Dopo%20mil
Tamara Qiblawi, K. F. (2021, February 11). Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul released from prison. CNN. Retrieved 02 17, 2021, from https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/10/middleeast/hathloul-saudi-released-intl/index.html
United Nations. (2020). Saudi Arabia: UN experts alarmed by Loujain Al-Hathloul trial, call for immediate release. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva. Retrieved February 2021, 17, from https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26593&LangID=E
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