‘ABUSE OF POWER’: SAUDI COURT UPHOLDS ACTIVIST HATHLOUL’S FIVE-YEAR TRAVEL BAN

Wed 10 March 2021:

A court in Saudi Arabia has denied an appeal by one of the kingdom’s most prominent political activists that would have allowed her to travel freely, her supporters said, weeks after her release from prison.

Loujain al Hathloul, whose 1,001-day detention drew fierce international criticism of the kingdom’s human rights record, had hoped to lift a five-year ban on traveling outside Saudi Arabia that the court imposed as a condition of her release.

She also faces three years of probation, meaning that she cannot return to activism or speak her mind without risking re-arrest, her family said.

The court suspended two years and 10 months of her sentence, most of which had already been served. Hathloul, whose release is conditional, remains under a travel ban.

Loujain on her way to court today ❤️ https://t.co/o1KvIc0SQh

— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) March 10, 2021

Hathloul has declined interviews with the press and largely stayed silent on social media for that reason.

“The international community should be outraged at this judgment,” her sister Lina al-Hathloul said in a statement. “The confirmation of the sentence of my sister Loujain is yet another confirmation of the abuse of power of the Saudi authorities.”

The travel ban underlines the government’s efforts to manage dissent in the kingdom through protracted restrictions on freed political prisoners. Two Saudi-Americans also released last month similarly face travel bans and asset freezes pending trial on what rights groups describe as unsubstantiated terrorism charges.

Hathloul, 31, gained prominence as a champion of women’s right to drive before the kingdom lifted its ban in mid-2018. She was sentenced last December to almost six years in prison under vague cybercrime and counter-terrorism laws. Rights activists described the charges as retribution for her activism.

US President Joe Biden’s administration, which has taken a tough stance over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, has urged Riyadh to release political prisoners including women’s rights activists.

Since taking office, Biden has announced the end of US support to the Saudi-led military coalition fighting in Yemen, paused some arms sales to the kingdom and released an intelligence report on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi that concluded Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had likely approved the murder.

Biden welcomed Hathloul’s release as “the right thing to do”. Now, her family is trying to keep her case in the spotlight, praising the international pressure that secured her release while warning that she and other women’s rights activists are not free.

“As long as she cannot campaign for women’s rights, as long as she cannot be an activist again, things won’t change honestly,” Hathloul’s sister said after her release.