Saudi Arabia has released two women's rights activists detained for nearly three years, NGOs said Sunday (June 27th).
“
Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah were released after serving their sentences,
” tweeted London-based human rights group ALQST.
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Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sadah were arrested in the summer of 2018 with a dozen other activists on charges related to national security, deemed "
opaque
" by NGOs. The Saudi authorities, who have never communicated on the prison terms to which they have been sentenced, did not immediately comment publicly on these releases. The two women "
should never have been jailed and deserve justice (and) compensation for their arbitrary detention
," Adam Coogle, deputy director of the Middle East department at Human Rights Watch, said on Twitter. Amnesty International also called on King Salman to "
cancel the ban on leaving the territory made
" to the two activists but also to "
all peaceful activists released
”.
Several released activists and members of their families are in fact still prohibited from leaving the kingdom, according to NGOs.
In December, a court sentenced another women's rights activist, Loujain al-Hathloul, to more than five years in prison under an anti-terrorism law, a suspended sentence that paved the way for her release. anticipated in February.
Loujain al-Hathloul, however, remains on parole for three years and cannot leave the kingdom for five years.
Saudi Arabia faces criticism from the administration of US President Joe Biden over respect for human rights. The 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in his country's consulate in Istanbul, "
validated
" according to a declassified report from the American intelligence services by Crown Prince Mohammed ben Salman, in particular tarnished the man's international image. stronghold of the kingdom, which at the same time carries out reforms and repression of all dissent.