(GNB Desk): Saudi Arabia has released jailed activist Loujain al-Hathloul, a leading campaigner to legalize driving for women in Saudi Arabia, according to her family. She was held for nearly three years.
The 31-year-old activist was detained in May of 2018, along with several other female activists, just weeks before the Saudi government lifted the ban.
In December, Loujain al-Hathloul was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in prison by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal (Terrorism) Court in Riyadh following her two-and-a-half-years in pre-trial detention. The charges against her include sharing information with foreign diplomats and journalists, and trying to change the Saudi system. Read more.
The judge suspended a portion of her sentence, and granted time served for another part, leading to her release on Wednesday. Al-Hathloul has already appealed her conviction under the counterterrorism law.
President Biden praises Saudi Arabia’s release of women’s rights activist Loujain Al Hathloul.
“Thank you to each and every one of you who have been supporting us these 1001 days. Loujain is at home, but she is not free. The fight is not over. I am not fully happy without the release of all political prisoners”, Loujain’s sister Lina Alhathloul tweeted.
Thank you to each and every one of you who have been supporting us these 1001 days.
— Lina Alhathloul لينا الهذلول (@LinaAlhathloul) February 10, 2021
Loujain is at home, but she is not free. The fight is not over.
I am not fully happy without the release of all political prisoners. #FreeLoujain #FreeThemAll #StandWithSaudiHeroes pic.twitter.com/82ywWSYUpl
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