17 detained in Saudi Arabia in crackdown on activists
■ Many women among those arrested on suspicion of ‘ threat’ to security
Saudi Arabia’s prosecutor said on Sunday that 17 people have been detained on suspicion of trying to undermine security and stability, a case activists say has targeted prominent women’s rights campaigners just weeks before the country lifts its ban on women driving.
The statement from the Public Prosecutor’s office did not name those detained, and said eight have been temporarily released.
Activists and rights group say that among those released are Aisha al- Mana, Hessah al- Sheikh and Madeha al- Ajroush — three longtime advocates of women’s rights who took part in the first protest in 1990 against the kingdom’s ban on women driving. A nurse and mother, Walaa alShubbar, who spoke out in support of women’s rights, was also briefly detained and released, according to rights groups.
The prosecutor’s statement said that five men and four women are still being held with “sufficient evidence against them, as well as their confession to the charges.”
Among those detained since May 15 are Loujain alHathloul, Aziza al- Yousef and Eman al- Nafjan, according to people with knowledge of the arrests who’ve spoken to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions. The three women still being held are among the most wellknown women’s rights activists in Saudi Arabia.
Also believed to still be detained are Ibrahim alMudaimigh, a lawyer with a doctorate from Harvard Law School who’s provided legal representation to human rights activists in the kingdom; writer and activist Mohammed alRabea; and Abdulaziz alMeshaal, a businessman and philanthropist who supported an effort by activists to establish a non- governmental organisation to help victims of domestic abuse.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say Mohammed al- Bajadi, a founding member of the now- banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association, was arrested on May 24 as part of the current sweep.
Arrests are part of a case activists say has targeted prominent women’s rights campaigners just weeks before the country lifts its ban on women driving Eight of those detained were later released. Five men and four women are still being held with ‘ sufficient evidence against them, as well as their confession to charges’