Abuse of Saudi women is ‘inhuman’

THREE British MPs yesterday endorsed reports that women activists detained in Saudi Arabia have been tortured, and said responsibility for what is likely a violation of international law could lie with “Saudi authorities at the highest level”.

The conclusions of the panel indicate growing uneasiness among Western allies with alleged rights abuses under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, who is already facing opprobrium over last year’s murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

The crown prince’s reforms have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, including the arrest of over a dozen women’s rights campaigners starting last May, most of whom had advocated for the right to drive and an end to the male guardianship system.

Amnesty International said last month it had documented 10 cases of torture and abuse – including sexual harassment, electrocution, flogging and death threats – while the activists were held at an undisclosed location last summer.

Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where public protests and political parties are banned, says it does not have political prisoners and denies torture allegations. Officials have said monitoring of activists is needed to ensure social stability.

Yet British MPs Crispin Blunt, Layla Moran and Paul Williams said they found reports by international rights groups and news media to be credible, describing the detainees’ treatment as “cruel, inhuman and degrading”.

Culpability rests not only with direct perpetrators, but also those who are responsible for or acquiesce to it, they said.

“The Saudi authorities at the highest levels could, in principle, be responsible for the crime of torture,” their final report said.

The British lawmakers called on the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and review the allegations against them, and to prosecute those responsible for their mistreatment.

They said requests to visit the detainees in Saudi Arabia have gone unanswered.

“The Saudi women activist detainees have been treated so badly as to sustain an international investigation for torture,” said Blunt. | Reuters