17 people have been arrested on suspicion of attempting to undermine the security and stability, case activists say has targeted prominent women’s rights campaigners just weeks before the country lifts its ban on women driving, Saudi Arabia’s prosecutor said, on Sunday.
The statement from the Public Prosecutor’s office did not name those arrested, and also reported the temporary release of eight people.
Activists and rights group say that among those released are Aisha al-Mana, Hessah al-Sheikh and Madeha al-Ajroushthree longtime advocates of women’s rights who took part in the first protest in 1990 against the kingdom’s ban on women driving. A nurse and mother, Walaa al-Shubbar, who spoke out in support of women’s rights, was also briefly detained and released, according to rights groups.
The prosecutor’s statement said five men and four women are still in held with “sufficient evidence against them, as well as their confession to the charges.”
According to the statement, the convict admitted that he has been communicating with people and organizations hostile to the kingdom, recruiting people in a sensitive government entity to gain classified information which hurt the kingdom, and providing financial and moral support hostile elements abroad.
State-linked media have referred to the group as “foreign embassy agents” and stick them with the term “traitors”.
Read More: Indian Navy rescues 38 Indians stranded in Yemen after Cyclone Mekenu
Among those detained since May 15 are Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef and Eman al-Nafjan, according to people with knowledge of the arrests who’ve spoken to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions. The three women still being held are among the most well-known women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia.
Also believed to still be detained are Ibrahim al-Mudaimigh, a lawyer with a doctorate from Harvard Law School who’s provided legal representation to human rights activists in the kingdom; writer and activist Mohammed al-Rabea; and Abdulaziz al-Meshaal, a businessman and philanthropist who supported an effort by activists to establish a non-governmental organization to help victims of domestic abuse.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say Mohammed al-Bajadi, a founding member of the now-banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, was arrested on May 24 as part of the current sweep against activists.
Rights groups say the arrests appear to be politically motivated and are an attempt by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to silence dissent as women prepare to drive for the first time in the country on June 24.
Post Your Comments