Temporary Release of Three Women's Rights Activists in Saudi Arabia

Three informed sources told the Associated Press that three women’s rights activists have been temporarily released after 10 months in prison. Two sources stated that Aziza al-Yusuf, a grandmother and retired professor, Iman al-Nafjan, a mother of four and professor of linguistics, and another woman have been released, with at least one of them now with her family. Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent women’s rights activist, is not among those released. The temporary release of these women comes a day after another session of the trial of women’s rights activists in Riyadh. During the court session, the activists raised allegations of physical and sexual abuse by masked interrogators during their imprisonment. This is the first instance of the release of several women’s rights activists since May of last year. The arrests last year occurred just weeks before the lifting of the driving ban for women. Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, attempted to portray himself as an initiator and leader of reforms by arresting women activists who had fought for these reforms for years, aiming to show Saudi society that women’s struggles had no impact on this decision. The women’s rights activists, whose second trial session was held on Wednesday, have been fighting for the right to drive and the abolition of male guardianship over women for years. Under Saudi law, all women need a male guardian's permission to travel abroad, obtain a passport, marry, and receive certain medical treatments. The Associated Press adds that several informed sources from the case said the charges against these women relate to their activities in women's rights and equality and their attempts to communicate with foreign journalists, diplomats, and human rights groups. According to details obtained by the Associated Press, family members of the defendants attended the criminal court session in Riyadh on Wednesday. One woman told the three-judge panel that one night several men, apparently drunk, transferred her from her detention location in Jeddah to an unknown secret location. The imprisoned women told the court that at that location, masked and unidentified men whipped their backs and thighs, electrocuted them, and put them in a state of asphyxiation. Some of them stated that unidentified interrogators touched their bodies with force, forced them to break their fast during Ramadan, and threatened them with rape and death. One of these women said she attempted suicide. Foreign journalists, diplomats, or independent observers were not allowed to attend the court.