Saudi Arabia Detains at Least Three More Women's Rights Activists

Saudi Arabia has detained at least three more women’s rights activists in a new crackdown, occurring just before the lifting of the ban on women driving in the country. Human rights organizations reported on Saturday that seven women’s rights activists had been arrested, all of whom had been working for years to legalize women’s driving and abolish the male guardianship system over women in the country. Following the news, the Saudi government announced that the detainees are suspected of communicating with foreign entities and receiving financial assistance from 'foreign enemies.' Riyadh also emphasized that it will continue to identify and arrest others suspected of such connections. In this context, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing Amnesty International, that the number of detainees has risen to at least ten, including seven women and two men, with the tenth individual still unidentified. Human Rights Watch confirmed this figure, but a human rights activist stated that a total of eleven individuals have been detained, seven of whom are women and four men. Reuters reflected the statements of Samah Hadid, a director at Amnesty International, who expressed concern over the ongoing detentions in Saudi Arabia and urged the kingdom's authorities to disclose the whereabouts and charges against these activists. The Saudi government’s decision to lift the ban on women driving, while seen as a sign of progress for women in this conservative Muslim country, has also been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, including arrests that took place last summer. M. al-Rashed, a Saudi professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told Reuters, 'These actions are aimed at stifling any political movement in Saudi Arabia... Mohammed bin Salman [the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia] wants to claim all social successes for himself. He wants to tell the world that he has granted rights to women and all citizens of Saudi Arabia.' Mohammed bin Salman has asked Saudi Arabia's Western allies to support his plans for reforms in the country. During his recent trips to Europe and the United States, he discussed investment projects worth hundreds of billions of dollars.