A court in Saudi Arabia has reportedly sentenced well-known activist and women’s rights activist Ludschain al-Hathlul to five years and eight months in prison. Half of it – the two years and ten months that Hathlul had already spent in prison – has been commuted to suspended sentence, the Saudi news site Sabq reported today. This could allow the 31-year-old to be released in March.
Hathlul wanted to „implement a foreign agenda within the kingdom using the Internet,“ the verdict announced today. You wanted to overturn the system of rule.
Campaign to end the car ban for women
Hathlul is one of the most internationally known activists in the strictly Islamic monarchy of Saudi Arabia and was best known for the campaign for an end to the driving ban for women. She was arrested in May 2018 – just before the driving ban was lifted.
The prosecutor had demanded the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. According to her family, Hathlul was tortured while in detention. The government in Riyadh denies this.
According to the Sabq side, the Terrorism Court announced the verdict. Hathlul has therefore tried to disrupt public order in Saudi Arabia and have also worked with a number of people and organizations. The probationary period will be lifted if Hathlul commits an offense within the next three years.
