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<\/p>\nProminent women\u2019s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul\u00a0was released from a\u00a0Saudi\u00a0prison after nearly three years behind bars, her family said on Wednesday, a case that has drawn international condemnation.<\/p>\n
Hathloul, 31, was detained in May 2018 and sentenced in December to nearly six years in prison on charges that\u00a0UN\u00a0human rights experts have called \u201cspurious\u201d under broad counter-terrorism laws. The court, which also ordered a five-year travel ban, had suspended two years and 10 months of her sentence, most of which had already been served.<\/p>\n
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\u201cLoujain is at home !!!!!!\u201d her sister Lina tweeted, posting a close-up picture of\u00a0Hathloul\u2019s\u00a0face.<\/p>\n
Another sister, Alia, said in a separate post that Hathloul was at their parents\u2019 home in\u00a0Saudi Arabia, adding \u201cthis is the best day of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
The White House earlier this month said President Joe Biden, who is taking a firmer line with the kingdom, expects\u00a0Saudi\u00a0Arabia to improve its human rights record, including releasing women\u2019s rights activists and other political prisoners.<\/p>\n
Hathloul, detained along with several women\u2019s rights activists, was convicted on charges including seeking to change the\u00a0Saudi\u00a0political system and harming national unity. Human Rights Watch called her conviction a \u201ctravesty of justice\u201d.<\/p>\n
Rights groups and her family say\u00a0Hathloul, who campaigned for women\u2019s right to drive and to end the kingdom\u2019s male guardianship system, was subjected to abuse, including electric shocks, waterboarding, flogging and sexual assault.<\/p>\n
Saudi\u00a0authorities have denied the accusations. A\u00a0Saudi\u00a0appeals court dismissed\u00a0Hathloul\u2019s\u00a0claim that she was tortured in jail, citing a lack of evidence, her family said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prominent women\u2019s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul\u00a0was released from a\u00a0Saudi\u00a0prison after nearly three years behind bars,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4272,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4271","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n