Saudi Arabia has released three of the 11 women activists standing trial for charges related to their human rights work.
Saudi rights group Alqst identified the women as Aziza al-Youssef, Ruqayyah al-Muharib and Eman al-Nafjan. All three were detained in a government crackdown on dissent in recent years.
Muharib, an academic, was arrested as part of a crackdown on clerics, intellectuals and activists in September 2017.
Youssef and Nafjan were detained in an arrest sweep that targeted women’s rights defenders in May 2018, just weeks before the kingdom ended its ban on women driving.
While Saudi Arabia has not made the charges against any of the women public, Human Rights Watch reported in mid-March that they appeared to be “almost entirely related to their human rights activities.” The charges also include contact with international organizations, foreign media and other activists, the rights group said.
The women’s arrests drew international condemnation, including at the United Nations Human Rights Council, where a statement in March signed by 36 countries named some of the activists and called for their release. It was the first collective rebuke of the kingdom at the forum.
Saudi activists and Human Rights Watch have alleged that some female detainees have been tortured and sexually harassed in prison.
