Saudi Arabia frees three women's rights activists, associates say

Saudi Arabia frees three women’s rights activists, associates say

Published on Sunday, 27 May , 2018 248 Views

Culture

#Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has released three veteran women’s rights activists who were among a group arrested last week, a month before a ban on women driving is set to end, fellow activists and Amnesty International said on Thursday.

International rights watchdogs have reported the detention of as many as 11 activists, mostly women who previously campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the kingdom’s male guardianship system, which requires women to obtain the consent of a male relative for major decisions.

Marriott CEO says success isn’t guaranteed, but optimistic on balance in KSA

Vast wealth and the promise of dramatic change make for cautious optimism concerning Saudi Arabia, the chief executive…

The government announced last week that seven people had been arrested for suspicious contacts with foreign entities and offering financial support to “enemies overseas”, and said other suspects were being sought. It did not name the detainees.

The terms of release for Aisha al-Manea, Hassa al-Sheikh and Madeha Alajroush, who have been campaigning since 1990 to lift the driving ban, were unclear. Their names had not appeared in local media reports that denounced some of the other detainees as traitors.

Activists and diplomats have speculated that the new wave of arrests may be aimed at appeasing conservative elements opposed to social reforms pushed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It may also be a message to activists not to push demands out of sync with the government’s own agenda, they said.

The remaining detainees – including Eman al-Nafjan, Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef, Ibrahim Modeimigh and Mohammed al-Rabea – were unlikely to be released soon, according to fellow activists, who fear they could be kept in jail for months without being charged.

Government officials were not immediately available to comment on the releases.

State-backed media have labelled those held as “agents of embassies”, unnerving diplomats in Saudi Arabia, a key ally of the United States.

Prince Mohammed has courted Western allies in a bid to open up the deeply conservative Muslim kingdom and diversify its oil-dependent economy, the region’s largest.

But while many hailed the end of the ban on women driving as proof of a new progressive trend, it has been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent.

Centro Olaya by Rotana Hotel unveiled in Riyadh

CENTRO Olaya, the sixth by Rotana Hotel in Saudi Arabia and the third in Riyadh, was inaugurated on…

Keywords: Saudi Arabia
Category Culture | 2018/05/27 latest update at 4:00 PM
Source : Reuters | Photocredit : Google

249 Views
Comments Add comment

THE WITCHER

Thriller Live show creator interview Adrian Grant...

Big increase in number of Pakistanis coming...

The editorial staff of Saudi Arabia Today would like to give all of its readers from Gulf and Saudi Arabia and the whole world the opportunity to participate actively in the development of the website! If you have something interesting, fun, scandalous - just something worth to be seen from more people. Capture it and share it in the Saudi Arabia Today with a short text.

Do you have information you want to reach our readers?

Send article/s

You can subscribe to our Facebook, Twitter and Google pages or use our RSS feed channel to always read the most important news about Saudi Arabia, the Gulf and the world.