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ISTANBUL – Several women's rights activists imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for more than six months have been subjected to psychological or physical violence during their detention, including sleep deprivation and beatings, according to four people aware of the conditions of their detention. detention.
Some of the abuses took place during interrogations, during which several women were shocked or whipped, said two people, citing a testimony. Other women have shown what witnesses said were apparent signs of abuse, including uncontrollable tremors or difficulties in staying upright, the people said.
Allegations of abuse and torture were impossible to confirm independently. Families are reluctant to repeat what they have heard from detainees during prison visits, fearing reprisals from the authorities. The four people who spoke about the abuses, all Saudi citizens, have contacts in the prison or were informed about the conditions of detention. They spoke under the guise of anonymity, fearing that the disclosure of their names would allow the detainees to be identified.
Asked to comment on the charges, a Saudi official, who refused to give his name, said in an e-mail statement: "The judicial system of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not tolerate, promote or permit the use of torture. . Any person, male or female, who is the subject of an investigation is subject to the standard judicial procedure conducted by the public prosecutor's office while being questioned, which in no way relies on physical, sexual or psychological torture. . "
The assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents last month in Istanbul has heightened surveillance over human rights violations in Saudi Arabia and fueled rumors that Saudi authorities are planning to release some of the activists to alleviate some of the abuses. attacks against the kingdom.
Seven weeks after the murder of Khashoggi, none of the activists was released and there is no indication that prosecutors took any further steps to formally charge them.
Saudi authorities began arresting the country's most prominent feminists in mid-May, after several waves of arrests targeted other prominent figures, including clerics and members of the royal family. business leaders and independent political activists. Some women have been working for decades to lift the ban on driving women in Saudi Arabia. The arrests, which included men who had worked with the women activists, provoked international outrage, in part because they had taken place just weeks before the Saudi government officially lifted the driving ban – and hailed his abrogation as an important step forward for women's rights in the kingdom.
The Saudi authorities, who usually keep the names of the suspects, also organized a very unusual campaign to make women's identities known after arresting them for accusations of unlawful contact with foreign countries.
None of the activists have been formally charged or allowed to consult a lawyer, sources close to the case said.
According to those familiar with the detentions, some of the activists were arrested for months in a building that is believed to be a hotel, where some of the worst abuses were perpetrated by male interrogators. Many were later transferred to Dhahban Prison in the coastal town of Jiddah. In both centers, detainees were held in solitary confinement for long periods.
In addition to beatings and electric shocks, at least one prisoner was suspended from the ceiling during an interrogation. Wrongly, another prisoner learned that a parent had been killed. A third inmate tried to commit suicide several times, said people familiar with the case.
A former detainee at Dhahban Prison, who testified that she was released about three months ago, testified that she interrogated detainees interrogated by interrogators using telephone cables and telephones. Other instruments. She did not have specific information on the treatment of women's rights activists, she said.
Amnesty International reported on Tuesday that several of the Saudi activists arrested since May have reportedly been subjected to sexual harassment, torture and other ill-treatment during interrogation. The report was published following independent interviews with The Post with four people familiar with the conditions of detention.
According to the same source, one of the detainees was allegedly subjected to sexual harassment by an interrogator wearing a mask. According to testimonies quoted by Amnesty, the human rights group also reported that activists had been repeatedly subjected to electric shocks or floggings. Some of the activists were unable to walk or stand properly.
"Only weeks after Jamal Khashoggi's ruthless assassination, this shocking information about torture, sexual harassment and other forms of ill-treatment, if verified, reveals further scandalous human rights violations. by the Saudi authorities, "said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's chief of staff. Research Director in the Middle East.
According to Amnesty, at least a dozen women and men associated with the Saudi women 's movement have been arrested since May. Several people well known for their activism had already been arrested, including Samar Badawi, Aziza al-Yousef and Loujain al-Hathloul. Activists have been fighting to end the driving ban as well as to repeal regulations requiring women to obtain permission from a guardian to travel or work.
Saudi officials denied that the arrests were due to women's activism and accused them of transmitting information to foreign countries hostile to Saudi Arabia.
When the detentions began in May, the women's photos were distributed in pro-government media with headlines calling them "traitors."
Read more:
The CIA finds that the Saudi Crown Prince ordered the killing of Jamal Khashoggi
Khashoggi's death sheds new light on Saudi prince's crackdown on dissent
The Saudi campaign to remove and silence rivals abroad dates back several decades
Today's coverage of Swiss Post correspondents around the world
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