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In 2014, Saudi woman Loujain al-Hathloul became world famous when she defied Saudi Arabia’s driving ban on women. Now she has to be tried, in a closed terror court, which can sentence people to death.
– I’m very worried about my sister. She is so weak after all that she has been subjected to in prison, and the last time my parents saw her she was shaking violently. They had never seen her so weak, Lina al-Hathloul, the jailed activist’s little sister, recently told Dagbladet.
GREAT MISS: Here, Lina and Loujain al-Hathloul (right) are together for the last time, in December 2017. – Norway and other countries must pressure Saudi Arabia for Loujain and other activists to be released, says Lina al-Hathloul. Photo: Private
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– tortured
Little sister Lina al-Hathloul lives and studies in Europe, but spends all her free time drawing the world’s attention to her sister’s cause. Loujain al-Hathloul became world famous when she took the ticket in the neighboring country, the United Arab Emirates, in 2014. Then she got in the car and crossed the border into Saudi Arabia. The trip took her straight to jail.
Loujain is an incredibly warm and caring person, who felt a responsibility to be a voice for the women she met in prison. Her struggle to drive a car is one thing, but she has done much more: she worked to end the guardianship system so that women could be more equal, spoke to the media, the UN, human rights organizations and diplomats, says Ina Tin, Senior Advisor at Amnesty. and author of the book Saudi Arabia. The sword and the voices.
Just before Saudi women were finally allowed to drive, in the summer of 2018, al-Hathloul and other female activists were jailed. In prison, they have suffered torture and isolation, according to Amnesty, DAWN and other sources.
Loujain has been tortured. They have beaten her, given her electric shocks and threaten to kill and rape her. My parents have seen the marks of torture with their own eyes. They’ve seen Loujain look at them with terrified eyes, and where she was shaking so badly she couldn’t hold a glass of water, Lina al-Hathloul tells Dagbladet.
– Grotesque with terrorist cut
Recently, it became clear that the Saudi authorities transferred al-Hathloul to a terror court. Yesterday, on World Human Rights Day, she is said to have been brought before a court.
Loujain has done what a human rights activist should do, and that she has now been transferred to a terrorist court is grotesque and tragic. He found out on short notice and has not had access to a lawyer. Neither his parents, diplomats nor other independent observers have been able to enter, Tin says at Amnesty.
The Terror Court is a court where judges are closely linked to the authorities and where it is not possible to appeal to any other court. The terror court also has powers to sentence people to death.
– It’s a real fear. Loujain has become such a strong symbol and has paid so much attention to the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, a regime that is completely unpredictable and erratic, Tin says.
JOBS FOR YOUR SISTER: Lina al-Hathloul (25) lives in Europe and spends much of her time making the world hear about her sister Loujain al-Hatloul and everyone else incarcerated in Saudi Arabia. Photo: Private
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Lose the hope
Family and human rights experts believe it is “alarming” that Loujain al-Hathloul should now be tried in a terrorist court. Everyone also fears for al-Hathloul’s health, which is very poor after years of isolation and a recent hunger strike.
– The last time she spoke to my parents, she had lost all hope and said she didn’t want to live anymore, says the worried sister.
Together with his parents, siblings and other supporters, he calls on the world to pressure the Saudi regime to release al-Hathloul and other prisoners.
– My parents say that he has never been so weak as now, says little sister Hathloul.
The last time he saw his sister was three years ago, in December 2017.
My hero may die
– everything is worse
The country’s young crown prince, Muhammad bin Salman, and his people talk about the many reforms currently underway in Saudi Arabia.
– Nothing is good in Saudi Arabia. The regime is trying to present it as getting better, but it is only getting worse. They say that women can now drive a car and drive alone, but that’s only one side of the problem. There is now a law that allows police to arrest women who they believe are not dressing properly, says al-Hathloul.
Inside the new Saudi Arabia
Søreide: – Worried
Just before the closing of the worldwide crown in February, Norwegian Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) was in Saudi Arabia. Among other things, he met with the country’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and devoted much of his time to human rights issues.
“It is a very bilateral development in Saudi Arabia, with a rapid opening on the one hand, which applies to some cultural and social rights, while there is a tightening in terms of political and civil rights,” the foreign minister told Dagbladet. during the Saudi trip meeting.
According to Søreide, Norway is following al-Hathloul’s case.
– The information that Loujain al-Hathloul has been subjected to torture is very disturbing. The embassy tried to gain access to the courtroom during Loujain al-Hathloul’s trial on November 25, but would not let him in, Søreide told Dagbladet in an email.
He also points out that the charge d’affaires of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Oslo has been summoned to a conversation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs where we will address the cases of al-Hathloul and the other human rights defenders.
– Encourage launches
The Chancellor emphasizes that “international attention is important in any case and the embassy tries to follow all trials of this type”
– The situation of imprisoned human rights defenders and other specific cases is regularly raised with the Saudi authorities in Riyadh and the Saudi embassy in Oslo. We have also called for his release through several joint contributions on Saudi Arabia to the UN Human Rights Council.
Arabia denies everything
Sky News interviewed Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Adel al Jubeir last month, dismissing allegations of torture and lack of rights for people in Saudi prisons. About Loujain al-Hathloul, he told the Sky News reporter:
– She is held captive like any other prisoner. She has proof. When she is finished, she is found guilty or not guilty. It is up to the court, she says, before insisting that al-Hathloul was not arrested for activism for women’s rights.
– It’s about national security. On trying to recruit people to get hold of sensitive documents and hand them over to powers that are hostile to the Saudi kingdom.
Ina Tin from Amnesty disagrees:
– Since al-Hathloul has been imprisoned, there has been a massive smear campaign against her. She has done nothing but what a true human rights activist should do, she says.
Sister Lina al-Hathloul also disagrees with the Minister of Foreign Affairs:
“I know, everyone knows, that Saudi Arabia is on the way to becoming a police state, and that the crackdown is worse than ever,” he told Sky News.
