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The Saudi Arabian women's rights activist Loujain Alhathloul
Photo: HANDOUT / REUTERS
The human rights organization Amnesty International described the court ruling as a "terrible injustice": An appeals court in Saudi Arabia declared a prison sentence and a five-year exit ban for the prominent women's rights activist Loujain Alhathloul as legal on Wednesday.
The court rejected the 31-year-old's appeal.
Her family reported that.
Alhathloul was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison under an anti-terror law at the end of December.
You have incited a riot and called for a change in the political system in the kingdom.
She was also accused of communicating online with "renegades" and "terrorists".
Since she had been in custody for more than two years by then, Alhathloul was released in February.
However, she is still on parole and is therefore not allowed to leave the country for five years.
Alhathloul is one of the most famous women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia.
The 31-year-old was arrested in May 2018 for fighting against the driving ban for women.
A little later, the driving ban that had been in place for decades was lifted.
Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the ultra-conservative kingdom has adopted numerous reforms in recent years that open up the country and give women more rights.
At the same time, however, the government is cracking down on critics in the country.
Human rights activists accuse the Saudi royal family of only faking the will to reform.
You see in Crown Prince Mohammed the mastermind behind the brutal murder of the government-critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi Arabian consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.
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as / dpa