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According to eyewitness accounts, one of the activists reportedly attempted suicide several times inside the prison, Amnesty said.
"In one of the reported cases, one of the activists was suspended from the ceiling and, according to another testimony, one of the female detainees reportedly was subjected to sexual harassment by interrogators wearing masks facials, "said the human rights group in a statement. Tuesday.
The alleged torture included "the administration of electric shocks, the whipping of women on their thighs, and forced hugs and kisses," HRW said. After interrogations, "the women had physical signs of torture, including walking difficulties, uncontrolled hand tremors, and red marks and scratches on the face and neck," the sources said, according to HRW. At least one of the women has attempted suicide on several occasions, the rights group said.
The Saudi government rejected the allegations of torture in a statement to CNN.
"The judicial system of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not approve, promote or use the use of torture. Any person, man or woman, who is the object of 39 An investigation is subject to the usual judicial process conducted by the prosecution while being questioned, which in no way depends on physical, sexual or psychological torture, "said a Saudi official.
Amnesty: "Shocking reports"
In his statement, Amnesty said that several activists had been arrested arbitrarily and without charge since May in Dhahban Prison in Jeddah.
HRW stated that it was not a matter of identifying people who were allegedly tortured because of fears of reprisals against them or sources that allegedly revealed their ill-treatment. According to Amnesty, the prison authorities were warned by the prison authorities against any reports of ill-treatment.
The two rights groups called on the Saudi authorities to immediately release the activists detained solely for their peaceful efforts to defend human rights.
"Only weeks after Jamal Khashoggi's ruthless assassination, this shocking information about torture, sexual harassment and other forms of ill-treatment reveals further scandalous human rights violations by the Saudi authorities" said Lynn Maalouf, head of Amnesty International. Research Director in the Middle East.
"The Saudi authorities are directly responsible for the well-being of these women and men in detention, and not only have they deprived them of their freedom for months, simply for peacefully expressing their views, they are also submitting them to terrible physical suffering. "
Amnesty and HRW also urged Western allies to call on the Saudi government to release women's rights activists and to investigate allegations of ill-treatment in detention.
"Any brutal torture of Saudi activists would show no limit to the Saudi government's free cruelty campaign against critics and human rights defenders," said Michael Page, deputy director of HRW for the Middle East. -East.
"Any government that tortures women for claiming fundamental rights must face international criticism, unwavering support from the United States and the United Kingdom."
British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt has been the first British prime minister to visit Riyadh since the murder of Khashoggi. In a statement, the Foreign Office said Hunt called on the Saudi authorities to do more to ensure justice and the responsibility of the Khashoggi family.
