The sisters of the women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul have stepped up pressure on Saudi Arabia’s leaders after her release from prison, demanding “real justice” and insisting the human rights campaigner will fight a year travel ban.
One day after Hathloul’s release from custody – widely billed as a peace offering from Riyadh to the administration of the new US president, Joe Biden – Lina al-Hathloul said her sister would take legal action in the kingdom to overturn restrictions imposed on her as part of her probation.
“What we want now is real justice,” she told a news conference, held online because of the Covid-19 pandemic. “That Loujain is completely, unconditionally free.”
She said Hathloul had been unable to talk freely while in prison. “We asked her: ‘When you were in prison, you said you were fine.’ She said: ‘What did you want me to do? An electric gun was on my ear. They were ready to electrocute me.’”
Hathloul is facing an extended ban from leaving Saudi Arabia, where she remains under close scrutiny. Her parents have also been prevented from travelling. While the terms of her release remain unclear, it is understood that speaking about her deal could expose her to renewed jail time.
A second sister, Alia, thanked Biden for pushing for Loujain’s release: “I would say thank you Mr President that you helped my sister to be released,” she told a virtual press conference.
“It’s a fact that Loujain was imprisoned during the previous administration, and she was released a few days after Biden’s arrival to power. She is very determined to use all means that exist within the legal framework in Saudi Arabia to exhaust all the possibilities in order to obtain her rights.”
After being arrested in March 2018, Hathloul spent more than 950 days in jail before being sentenced under terrorism laws in late December to five years and eight months. Part of her sentence was suspended and her release had been anticipated as Biden settled into the presidency. In total she spent 1,001 days behind bars.
A vocal human rights campaigner, Hathloul had been at the forefront of calls for Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive and for an end to guardianship laws, which greatly restricted the right of women to travel or make life decisions.
As the kingdom moved in the direction of changing the law, pressure on activists to stop their demands intensified. Hathloul was detained in Dubai, weeks before the driving ban was lifted, and flown back to Saudi Arabia, where she was accused of communicating with diplomats and international media, which had given her a platform and backed calls for change.
Lina al-Hathloul repeatedly claimed her sister had been tortured in prison and was at one stage menaced by Saud al-Qahtani, a former prominent aide to the de facto Saudi leader, Mohammed bin Salman. Qahtani was sanctioned by the US in 2018 for his alleged role in the planning and execution of the murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
In a photo released by her family after being freed, Loujain looked slimmer and slightly frail, with a streak of grey hair. She otherwise appeared to be healthy. Her family said she would recuperate at her parents’ home.
The @LoujainHathloul at home after 1001 days in prison pic.twitter.com/SIm274rAEw
— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) February 10, 2021
Amnesty International, which had campaigned extensively for the release of al-Hathloul and other female activists said: “Saudi Arabia’s authorities must ensure those responsible for her torture and other ill-treatment are brought to justice. They must also ensure she is not subjected to any further punitive measures such as a travel ban.
“Loujain al-Hathloul should never have been forced to spend a single second behind bars. She has been vindictively punished for bravely defending women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, and for exercising her right to freedom of expression.”
