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One of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent women’s rights activists, Loujain al-Hathloul, trembled uncontrollably and spoke in an unusually low voice during a rare court appearance this week, a a family member told NBC News on Thursday.
Loujain al-Hathloul’s sister Lina al-Hathloul told NBC News by phone from Berlin that the siblings’ parents attended the hearing in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.
Loujain, 31, was told at the hearing that her case would be transferred to the country’s specialized criminal court, which deals with terrorism cases, Lina said. It was her sister’s first court appearance since March of last year, she added.
Lynn Maalouf, deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International, a London-based human rights activist, called the judicial transfer “a disturbing move”. The Specialized Criminal Court was “known to have handed down long prison terms following gravely flawed trials,” she said in a statement.
Saudi officials did not respond to NBC News requests for comment. NBC News has not been able to independently confirm details of Loujain’s appearance and health.
“They criminalize activism,” Lina said of Saudi authorities. “It is extremely stressful never knowing what your own government can do to you.”
According to Amnesty, diplomats from a number of states have been refused entry to the courthouse under the “pretext” of Covid-19 regulations.
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Loujain, who rose to prominence when she advocated for women’s right to drive, had been on a hunger strike for two weeks since October 26, her sister said. She was among a dozen other activists to be arrested in May 2018, just weeks before Saudi Arabia ended a decades-long ban on driving women.
Other dissidents, including cleric Salman al-Awda, who called on the country’s leaders to be more responsive to the people’s desires for reform, have also been tried in the country’s anti-terrorism court.
Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch said at least three imprisoned women’s rights activists, including Loujain, were held in solitary confinement and subjected to abuse, including electric shocks, lashes and sexual assault. Saudi Arabia has vigorously denied these claims.
Officials have not made public the specific charges against Loujain, but last year, the Saudi state news agency SPA, said Hathloul and other female detainees were accused of attempting to undermine the security, stability and national unity.
Earlier this month, the Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir told the BBC in an interview that the country had an independent judiciary and “would not allow people to lecture us.”
“Loujain al-Hathloul was arrested because of issues relating to national security, relations with foreign entities, support for entities hostile to Saudi Arabia – this has nothing to do with defending the rights of women to drive, ”Al-Jubeir said.
“The courts will decide his fate,” he added.
The Gulf Kingdom will likely be subject to further scrutiny of its human rights record following the electoral defeat of President Donald Trump, who has maintained a close relationship with de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as the name of MBS.
President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to “reassess” the United States’ relationship with the oil-rich nation and has described Arabia as an “outcast” for its human rights record, reporting a firmer line.
Under the crown prince, Riyadh embarked on bold social reforms, including removing the “guardianship” system that requires women to obtain permission from a male relative to travel and work outside the home. He also relaxed social rules for cinemas and limited the powers of the religious police.
But the reforms have been accompanied by crackdowns on political dissent and a protracted war in neighboring Yemen, fostering a major humanitarian crisis.
The murder of Saudi Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, killed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, also horrified many around the world and tarnished the country’s international reputation.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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