Loujain al-Hathloul fought for the right of women to drive and was one of the first women to stand for elected office in 2015

For reasons that are difficult to explain, Loujain al-Hathloul, the beautiful and witty rights campaigner is languishing in jail. Most people had been lured into believing that the rights which she campaigned for were at the forefront of the royal family’s social revolution.

28-year-old Ms Hathloul was one of ten activists, mostly women, arrested this month. Those detained also include Aziza al-Yousef, a well-known academic, Eman al-Nafjan, a prominent blogger, and two male supporters, Mohammad al-Rabea, an activist, and Ibrahim al-Modaimeegh, a lawyer.




There have been unsubstantiated reports that those arrested had passed on classified information.

However, a public affairs commentator, Mohammed Alyahya said :
“If this is true then evidence must be made public. These individuals have been known for nothing but their social activism for years. The massive social and economic changes in Saudi will be markedly tainted in the absence of not only economic transparency but also legal clarity.”