Saudi Activist Who Urged Women's Driving Rights Gets Nearly 6-Year Prison Term [View all]
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.
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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.
https://www.npr.org/2020/12/28/950765197/saudi-activist-who-urged-womens-driving-rights-gets-nearly-6-year-prison-term
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