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August 14, 2019

Family of Saudi Women Rights Activist Says She Was Offered Release from Prison If She Denied Torture
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The family of Saudi women's rights activist Loujain Al-Hathloul says she
was offered a release from prison in exchange for taping a video
retracting accusations she was tortured while behind bars - an offer she
rejected. Hathloul was arrested in May of last year, along with four
other women activists. She led a movement to lift a ban on female
drivers and overhaul the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia.
According to human rights groups and her family, Hathloul has since been
held in solitary confinement and has been subjected to abuse, including
electric shocks, flogging and threats of sexual violence. Hathloul's
siblings say that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's former top adviser,
Saud al-Qahtani - who has been implicated in Washington Post columnist
Jamal Khashoggi's murder - was present while she was being tortured, and
threatened to rape and kill her. Click here to see our interview with
Loujain's brother and sister, Walid and Lina Al-Hathloul.


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