Saudi court sentences women's rights activist to nearly 6 years imprisonment
Among other rights, Loujain al-Hathloul openly called for women to be granted right to drive in the kingdom
A Saudi Arabian court sentenced one of the country's most prominent women's rights activists Monday to a near-six-year prison sentence "under a vague and broadly-worded law aimed at combating terrorism," according to The Associated Press (AP).
Loujain al-Hathloul has already served two-and-a-half years in prison and her incarceration has drawn criticism from rights groups, members of the US Congress and European Union lawmakers.
Along with a handful of other women, al-Hathloul openly called for women to be given the right to drive unchaperoned before it was granted in 2018, as well as the removal of the male guardianship laws that greatly restricted women's freedom of movement, including the ability to travel outside of the kingdom.
State-linked Saudi news outlet Sabq reported that the kingdom's anti-terrorism court found al-Hathloul guilty on charges including agitating for change, pursuing a foreign agenda, using the Internet to harm public order and cooperating with individual entities that have committed crimes according to anti-terrorism laws.
Al-Hathloul could be released as early as March 2021, taking into consideration time already served. She has been imprisoned since May 2018 and half her sentence could be suspended.
Sabq reported that al-Hathloul had confessed to committing the crimes and that her confessions were not coerced.
The defendant has 30 days to appeal the sentence.