Trial of Women's Rights Activists Begins in Saudi Arabia

The trial of several women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia, who were arrested last year and accused of unspecified crimes, began on Wednesday, March 13. Amnesty International reported that one of these women, Loujain al-Hathloul, stated that she was subjected to abuse and threatened with death during her imprisonment. According to this human rights organization, Eman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Yousef are also among the activists being tried in this court. Reports indicate that the trial of these individuals has been moved from a special terrorism court to a criminal court. Meanwhile, Saudi state media did not publish any news regarding the court proceedings on Wednesday. An Amnesty International official stated, "The trial of these women is truly concerning and they are likely to be found guilty solely for defending women's rights." This organization had previously reported that several of these women were beaten and tortured during interrogation. AFP also quoted a government official stating that the number of women whose trial has begun is 10. Most of these individuals were arrested during the crackdown on women's rights activists last spring and have been imprisoned for about a year without charges being formally announced against them. Ibrahim al-Siyari, the head of the criminal court, told journalists and foreign diplomats who were not allowed to attend the court session that the charges would be read to these women before the trial began. In May of last year, about a month before women in Saudi Arabia were allowed to drive, several women’s rights activists were arrested. Most of them were accused of crimes such as acting against national security and collaborating with enemies of the state. Some were released after a while. The Saudi government has denied allegations made by family members of some of these activists and human rights organizations regarding torture and sexual abuse of women in prison. Amnesty International and Loujain al-Hathloul's family expressed concern on Tuesday that these activists might be charged with terrorist acts and crimes. It was expected that this trial would take place in a special criminal court in Riyadh, which was apparently established for terrorism-related cases. However, according to the families of these activists, government officials informed them in a midnight phone call without specifying a reason that the trial had been moved to an ordinary criminal court. Ms. al-Hathloul was also arrested in 2014 for driving from the United Arab Emirates to Saudi Arabia and was imprisoned for 70 days. The crackdown and detention of women's rights activists, especially after the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, has faced severe criticism from the international community. Last week, 36 countries that are members of the United Nations Human Rights Council, including all members of the European Union, issued an unprecedented joint statement condemning Saudi Arabia for the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and strongly criticizing human rights violations in the country, including the detention of women's rights activists.