Posted on 12/28/2020 11:07:35 AM PST by BenLurkin
Saudi Arabia's terrorism court has sentenced Loujain al-Hathloul, the activist who led the push to allow Saudi women to drive, to nearly six years in prison. Hathloul's case has drawn widespread scrutiny since her arrest in the spring of 2018.
As it punished Hathloul, the Specialized Criminal Court suspended nearly three years of her sentence — and because Hathloul has already spent well over two years in prison, she could be released in less than three months, according to her sister, Lina al-Hathloul. Discussing the verdict on Twitter, she adds that both sides of the case could appeal Monday's ruling.
In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a five-year travel ban on Hathloul, her sister said. The suspended portion of the prison term could also be reimposed if the activist is found to have committed any crime over the next three years, according to the Saudi state-linked news outlet Sabq.
BREAKING : Today @LoujainHathloul was sentenced to -5 years and 8 months in prison - A suspension of 2 years and 10 months in addition to the time already served (since May 2018) which would see her release in approximately two months. -5 years travel ban Note: 👇🏽 — Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) December 28, 2020 Hathloul, 31, was the most high-profile of a group of female activists who were arrested shortly before the Saudi kingdom lifted its long-standing ban on women driving. Her family says she has been tortured and not allowed to have phone calls or visits from her family.
Sabq reports that the Specialized Criminal Court found that Hathloul agitated for changing the kingdom's laws and used the Internet to push a foreign agenda. A judge stated that Hathloul confessed to the charges, saying that the activist, who has gone on at least two hunger strikes during her lengthy detention, was not coerced.
The punishment is "deeply troubling," the U.N. human rights office tweeted. Noting that Hathloul has been "arbitrarily detained" since 2018, the office added, "We understand early release is possible, and strongly encourage it as matter of urgency."
Saudi officials transferred Hathloul's case to the court that normally deals with national security crimes and terrorism cases in late November. As NPR's Jackie Northam reported, Hathloul had gone more than a year without a court appearance. Al-Hathloul's sister Lina told NPR that her parents, who attended the November court session, saw "a very weak, tired, exhausted Loujain."
Human rights groups and foreign governments have criticized Hathloul's treatment and the handling of her case. Amnesty International calls the Specialized Criminal Court a tool to "silence dissent," stating that its use in Hathloul's case "is yet another sign that Saudi Arabia's claims of reform on human rights are a farce."
Including Hathloul, more than a dozen women's rights activists have been detained, according to Amnesty International.
Apparently the idea of women driving literally terrorizes Saudi men.
I may need to agree with the court on this one!
It’s their country.
Camels and beasts of the desert have a higher status than women in the Islamic realm.
Look, Saudi Arabia is a deeply religious Muslim state.
Why should I care what they do with their women, or their goats for that matter? I have no desire to govern the Middle East, and neither should you. Reform of Islam is well beyond the capabilities of the United States - and, it’s none of our business.
The war is here.
It terrorizes me sometimes too.
Only 6 years? Meanwhile, was letting women drive a sign that they were modernizing, or was it a clever ploy to get the population to pray more?
Saudi Arabia is building a new special economic zone, which I think is called “Noem.” It is their answer to Qatar, which has become an international business and finance hub. Theoretically, none of the Saudi religious laws apply there. If they did, there’s no way the Saudis will attract huge amounts of foreign investment.
I can’t see this being successful unless the Saudis are extremely careful which Saudis they let into the city. The way Islam works anyone who considers themselves religious (that’s everybody) is charged with enforcing religious law. That means if there are a couple of obviously gay guys smooching beyond the normal Saudi cheek kiss, then they will be killed on the spot. That means millions of dollars worth of investment can be blown away by just one zealous Saudi enforcing the law.
Interestingly, when it was first proposed an article that surely had the Saudi okay suggested that Israel would be involved in a couple of ways, including supplying desalinated water. That was probably a trial balloon that failed badly. But given the location and the lay of the land, Israel has to be involved or it won’t work. There could be a lot of reasons why the project isn’t in the news anymore, but I suspect the Saudis are quietly trying to get backing from appropriately placed Saudi clerics.
If I were running a company I would hesitate to invest a lot of money in a country where the death of the king could mean my employees getting arrested and potentially executed.
Actually, the ban on women driving is for the average Saudi man, a huge inconvenience as they have to coordinate taxis or chauffeurs or drive their wives around themselves. Their wives can't run errands, go grocery shopping, or take the kids to appointments.
This is one of those rules made by the elite and imposed on everyone. Most men would be happy to see the ban repealed.
Basically, the West entered it’s downhill slide pretty much right when they stared with equal rights, and the slide has gotten more and more steep as the those ‘equal rights’ turned into ‘superior rights’ with countries with the highest level of ‘superior rights’ sliding out of existence the fastest (take a look at Sweden, for example).
It appears to me that Islamic countries (and China) are watching and taking notes.
What you said.
She got off easy.
...........I spent some time in SA in the eighties when women driving wasn’t even a thought on anybody’s mind. As for “terror”, Saudi Men are TERRIBLE drivers. I witnessed countless wrecks and all were very bad wrecks due to excessive speed.
Women would likely only improve the situation.
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