Jailed Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul set to be released, sister says

A Saudi court sentenced Hathloul to close to six years in prison late in 2020 on charges of contacting foreign organisations stemming from her human rights work. With time served and the court suspending part of the jail sentence, she was set for release in March.

“Today I was looking at the weekly work and looking at the agenda. Out of excitement, I cancelled all of my meetings on Thursday, 11 February and took the day off,” Alia wrote.

“According to the judge’s order, Loujain will be released this Thursday.”

Her early release would come weeks into the administration of US President Joe Biden, who has vowed to “reassess” relations with Riyadh and prioritise human rights in its dealings with the kingdom.

In a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan last week, US Secretary of State Tony Blinken stressed “several key priorities of the new administration including elevating human rights issues and ending the war in Yemen”, according to a statement by the State Department.

1,000 days

Hathloul, a women’s rights defender, had been engaged in public campaigns to allow women to drive.

Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom lifted the driving ban on women but arrested Hathloul and others who lobbied for that right.

Hathloul was first kidnapped in 2018 in the United Arab Emirates, where she lived, and flown into Saudi Arabia against her will, where she faced a trial based on a loosely worded terror law often used to prosecute activists.

She quickly became an international icon symbolising the crackdown on individual and political freedoms in Saudi Arabia.

In 2019, Hathloul and fellow detained feminist activists Nouf Abdulaziz and Eman al-Nafjan received the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award that is given to prominent advocates of freedom of expression.

According to rights groups and family members, Hathloul faced sexual harassment and was tortured with the direct involvement of Saud al-Qahtani, a top aide to bin Salman.

Monday marked 1,000 days for Hathloul in jail. Human rights groups and women’s rights activists had paid tribute for the jailed activist throughout the day.

“Today marks the 1,000th day that Saudi writer-activist Loujain Al-Hathloul has spent in prison for her work speaking up for women’s rights,” Pen America said in a tweet.

“She now serves a nearly six-year prison sentence. We must continue calls to #FreeLoujain unconditionally and defend the #FreedomToWrite.”