Saudi Arabia Orders Temporary Release of Three Women’s Rights Activists

(Bloomberg) -- A Saudi criminal court ordered on Thursday the temporary release of three women’s rights activists charged with undermining state security, in a case that has drawn international scrutiny and overshadowed measures to expand social freedoms in the kingdom.

The release was ordered after the Riyadh court reviewed a request from the defendants, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

SPA didn’t identify the defendants, but they are among at least 10 women who were detained in May along with male supporters and accused of undermining state security and the social fabric of the Islamic country. Those standing trial include 29-year-old Loujain Al Hathloul, a leading women’s rights activist, retired professor Aziza Alyousef, blogger Eman Al Nafjan, historian Hatoon al-Fassi and religious scholar Rokaya Almohareb.

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Several had campaigned for years to end the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia and spoke out against the guardianship system that requires permission from male relatives for women to travel abroad or marry. The driving ban was lifted a month after their arrest.

Their detention caused controversy at home and abroad, especially after some said they had been tortured in custody. Saudi Arabia says they were not mistreated but the case was among a number that have cast a pall over Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s push to loosen many of the traditional restrictions in the Islamic kingdom and prepare the economy for a time after oil.

In 2017, Saudi authorities rounded up hundreds of businesspeople and royals in what the government said was a crackdown on corruption, but critics called a shake-down. The murder of government critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October drew international condemnation. Authorities vehemently deny the prince played any role in Khashoggi’s killing.

The crown prince has said the women’s detention was unrelated to their activism. In an interview in October, Prince Mohammed said authorities have evidence they had connections with foreign intelligence agencies and were leaking information.

People familiar with the indictment have said, however, that Al-Hathloul’s charges include communicating with diplomats and journalists but makes no mention of ties to foreign intelligence.

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It’s not clear what charges the rest of the defendants face. Most observers believe Al Hathloul’s case is the most serious. Western diplomats and journalists have been denied entry to the hearings.

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