Saudi Arabia temporarily releases three detained women activists
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia temporarily released three out of 11 women detained nearly a year ago in a broad crackdown on activists, state media said, as the kingdom faces intense global scrutiny over human rights.
Blogger Eman al-Nafjan, retired lecturer Aziza al-Youssef and academic Rokaya al-Mohareb were freed, one of their relatives told AFP, as the women face trial in Riyadh’s criminal court on charges that include contact with foreign media, diplomats and human rights groups.
“The criminal court in Riyadh announces the provisional release of three detainees. The court will continue to hear their cases and they will attend the trial sessions ... until the issuance of the final judgement,” the official Saudi Press Agency said, without naming them.
Confirming the names of the freed women, London-based rights group ALQST said other detained women were expected to be freed tomorrow.
Most of the women were detained last summer in a wideranging crackdown against women campaigners just before the historic lifting of a decadeslong ban on female motorists.
Their release follows an emotionally charged second court hearing that saw some of the women breaking down while testifying that they faced torture and sexual harassment in detention. They accused interrogators of subjecting them to electric shocks, flogging them and groping them in detention, two people with access to the trial told AFP.
The criminal court in Riyadh announces the provisional release of three detainees.The court will continue to hear their cases and they will attend the trial sessions ... until the issuance of the final judgement. Saudi Press Agency
At least one of the detained women tried to commit suicide following her mistreatment, a close relative said.
The government, facing sharp global criticism of its human rights record, denies the women were tortured or harassed.
The three released women will have to appear in court next Wednesday when the trial before a three-judge panel resumes.
“This is a long overdue step as these women should never have been jailed in the first place, and their release should certainly not be on a ‘temporary’ basis,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East research director.
“They have been locked up, separated from their loved ones, subjected to torture and threats for simply peacefully calling for women’s rights and expressing their views.”
The women had long campaigned for the right to drive and an end to the restrictive guardianship system that gives male relatives arbitrary authority over women.
Saudi officials have repeatedly accused the women of links to foreign intelligence agencies, while state-backed media branded them traitors and ‘agents of embassies’.