Saudi Arabia: detained women's rights activists to be put on trial

Source: The Guardian and agencies

Saudi women’s rights activists detained last year in a sweeping crackdown on campaigners will be put on trial, prosecutors have said.

“The public prosecution would like to announce that it has concluded its investigation and prepared the indictment list against the defendants ... and will refer the case to the relevant court,” the state-controlled Saudi Press Agency said on Friday.

The brief statement did not directly identify the defendants as female activists nor give a date for court proceedings.

More than a dozen activists were arrested in May last year – just before the historic lifting of a decades-long ban on female drivers the following month. Many of them were accused of undermining security and aiding enemies of the state. Some were subsequently released.

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Staff and agencies
Sat 2 Mar 2019 05.45 GMT


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/02/saudi-arabia-detained-womens-rights-activists-to-be-put-on-trial