Loujain al-Hathloul

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Detained: May 15, 2018

Charges: Promoting women's rights; calling for the end of the male guardianship system; contacting international organizations, foreign media, and other activists.

Sentence: five years and eight months in prison.

Biography: Loujain al-Hathloul is one of the most prominent and outspoken women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia. She is well-known for her campaigning against the driving ban and the campaign to end the male guardianship system. In 2014, she was detained for 73 days after she attempted to drive into Saudi Arabia from the United Arab Emirates. Loujain al-Hathloul also went on to stand for election in Saudi Arabia in November 2015 – the first time women were allowed to both vote and stand in elections in the state. However, despite finally being recognized as a candidate, her name was never added to the ballot.

Saudi officials detained Loujain al-Hathloul on March 15, 2018. For the first 10 months of her detention she was held without charges or trial. Loujain was detained along with 11 other women rights activists since May 2018. She was held incommunicado with no access to her family or lawyer during the first three months of her detention. During that time, Loujain was beaten, waterboarded, given electric shocks, sexually harassed, and threatened with rape and murder. On her first trial session on March 13, 2019, she was charged with promoting women's rights; calling for the end of the male guardianship system; contacting international organizations, foreign media, and other activists, including contact with Amnesty International. Her case was transferred to Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court on Wednesday, November 25, 2020. Loujain al-Hathloul was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison, and with the Court suspending 2 years and 10 months of her term and backdated its start to May 2018, Loujain al-Hathloul will serve three months in prison.

She is one of many formerly Detained Women's Rights Activists in Saudi Arabia.

Loujain al-Hathloul has been granted CONDITIONAL RELEASE.

Advocate: Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR)

Advocacy Partner: Amnesty International

Updates:

• UN human rights experts are urging Saudi Arabia to immediately and unconditionally release all women human rights defenders. These women include Dr. al-Fassi and Samar Badawi (October 12, 2018, OHCHR).

• The UN Committee against Torture urged Saudi authorities to free more than a dozen detained rights activists, alleging some had been tortured or mistreated during interrogation. Eman Al Nafjan and Samar Badawi were among the activists named (December 12, 2018, Al Jazeera).

• The U.S. Senate passed S.J.Res.69, which calls on the government of Saudi Arabia to release Samar Badawi and other detained women's rights activists. (December 13, 2018, Congress.gov)

• Saudi Arabia's human rights commission is investigating the alleged torture of women's rights activists including Samar Badawi and Eman al-Nafjan. However, the investigation is unlikely to lead to criminal charges (December 18, 2018, Al Jazeera).

• A cross-party group of British parliamentarians and international lawyers has asked to visit detained female activists in Saudi Arabia to investigate allegations that they are being tortured and denied legal representation and family visits. Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi, Samar Badawi, Eman Al Nafjan, and Nouf Abdelaziz Al Jerawi are among the women in question (January 1, 2019, Al Jazeera).

• More than 200 scholars signed a letter to King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman calling for the release of Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi and other detained women's rights activists (January 18, 2019, Middle East Studies Association).

• Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch called on Saudi Arabia to allow independent monitors to meet detainees, including women's rights activists who were allegedly tortured (January 25, 2019, Al Jazeera).

• The Washington Post Editorial Board wrote an Op-Ed encouraging Congress to stand up for imprisoned Saudi women's rights activists. Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi and Samar Badawi's cases were cited (January 26, 2019, Washington Post).

• The Washington Post Editorial Board wrote an Op-Ed decrying the torture of imprisoned Saudi women's rights activists including Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi, Samar Badawi, Eman Al Nafjan, and Nouf Abdelaziz Al Jerawi, and advocating for accountability for the perpetrators (February 10, 2019, Washington Post).

• A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers introduced a resolution Wednesday calling on Saudi Arabia to “immediately and unconditionally” release detained women's rights activists including Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi and Aziza al-Yousef (February 13, 2019, Washington Post).

• Thirty-six states at the UN Human Rights Council have criticized Saudi Arabia for detaining women's rights activists, and demanded their release (March 7, 2019, BBC).

• Aziza al-Yousef and Eman Al Nafjan, and Loujain Al-Hathloul, will face their first hearings on March 13, 2019 before the Specialized Criminal Court (March 12, 2019, Gulf Centre for Human Rights).

• Eman Al Nafjan, Nouf Abdelaziz Al Jerawi, and Loujain Al-Hathloul have been granted the 2019 PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award (March 14, 2019, PEN).

• Nine Senators wrote a letter to Saudi King Salman, calling on him to release detained women's rights defenders including Dr. Hatoon Al-Fassi, Eman al-Nafjan, Nouf Abdelaziz Al Jerawi, and Aziza al-Yousef (March 17, 2019, Office of Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)).

• German journalist Suzanne Koelbl profiled Eman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Yousef, and Loujain Al-Hathloul in Der Spiegel. (March 25, 2019, Der Spiegel)

• Loujain al-Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, and Nouf Abdelaziz Al Jerawi were awarded the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write award for 2019 at the 2019 PEN Gala (May 22, 2019, PEN America).

• The House Foreign Affairs Committee voted to approve and send to the House floor for consideration House Resolution 129 condemning Saudi imprisonment and abuse of female activists. Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef, and Dr. Hatoon al-Fassi were referenced in the Resolution (May 22, 2019, Al Jazeera).

• On July 15, 2019 the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 129 Condemning the Government of Saudi Arabia's continued detention and alleged abuse of women's rights activists. 

• Human rights defenders wished imprisoned Saudi activist Loujain al-Hathloul a "happy" 30th birthday - the second she has spent behind bars since being jailed in 2018 (July 31, 2019, The New Arab).

• The Saudi government offered to release Loujain al-Hathloul if she would deny that she had been tortured. She refused (August 14, 2019, The Washington Post).

• Thirteen UN human rights experts joined together to urge freedom for Loujain al-Hathloul after 500 days in prison. (September 27, 2019, OHCHR)

• A group of states criticized Saudi Arabia's human rights record during the 29th meeting of the 42nd session of the UN Human Rights Council (September 23, 2019, Item 8 - General Debate, Chapter 2, Australia).

• Women's rights campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul is due in court Wednesday, March 11, 2020 after being held for almost two years, and has been subjected to spells in solitary confinement since January (March 9, 2020, Amnesty International).

• Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA) sent a letter to the Saudi Arabian Ambassador regarding the welfare of detained women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul (June 23, 2020, Press Release U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff).

• On November 25, 2020, appearing weak and shaking uncontrollably, Loujain Al-Hathloul went before a Saudi judge to learn her case has been transferred to a special court for terrorism and national security crimes (November 26, 2020, NY Times)

• Loujain al-Hatloul was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison, and with the Court suspending 2 years and 10 months of her term and backdated its start to May 2018, Loujain al-Hathloul will serve three months in prison (December 28, 2020, Amnesty International).

• Loujain al-Hathloul was released after spending 1,001 days in prison. Saudi authorities will impose 3 years of probation and a 5-year travel ban starting the day of her release (February 10, 2021, New York Times). 

• On March 3, 2021, a Saudi court denied Loujain al-Hathloul's appeal confirming she will still be required to serve 3 years probation and a 5-year travel ban (March 10, 2021, CNN).

• On April 13, 2022, at least nine judges were publicly arrested at their places of work by Saudi State Security Agency officials on charges of "high treason." Judge Abdullah bin Khalid al-Luhaidan, who sentenced Loujain al-Hathloul to prison in 2020, was among those detained (April 13, 2022, Democracy for the Arab World Now).

• On May 4, 2022, Amnesty International launched the #LetThemFly campaign, calling for the end to punitive travel bans in Saudi Arabia. The campaign highlights 30 cases, including that of Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi (May 4, 2022, Amnesty International).

• On September 26, 2022, Amnesty International completed its "#LetThemFly" campaign, with nearly 100,000 individuals signing the petition which called on Saudi Arabia to "lift all travel bans imposed on human rights defenders" since its launch in May 2022. Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi were referenced as examples of cases where punitive travel bans were imposed on Saudi Arabian human rights defenders released from prison (September 26, 2022, Amnesty International).

• According to Loujain al-Hathloul's sister, her travel ban should have been completed on September 13, 2023, however, she remained barred from travel nearly one month later (October 6, 2023, New Arab).