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File: Aziza al-Yousef drives a car on a highway in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as part of a campaign to defy Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving. AP/PA Images

Women's rights activists arrested ahead of Saudi driving ban lift

They were detained for “attempting to undermine the security and stability of the kingdom”.

SAUDI AUTHORITIES HAVE arrested seven prominent women’s rights advocates, dividing public opinion just weeks before the kingdom is set to lift its driving ban on women.

Without naming those detained, Saudi Arabia’s state security apparatus said seven people had been arrested for “attempting to undermine the security and stability of the kingdom… and to erode national unity”.

“Work is still underway to identify everyone involved” and take legal measures against them, according to a security spokesman quoted by state news agency SPA.

Those arrested are facing accusations including making “suspicious contact with foreign parties”, providing financial support to “hostile elements abroad” and recruiting government workers.

The crackdown comes even as the kingdom breaks with long-held restrictions on women and the mixing of the genders, with its driving ban on women slated to end on 24 June.

But there were warnings that Riyadh would not tolerate those pushing for change outside its authority.

Activists told Human Rights Watch that in September 2017, on the same day authorities announced the driving ban would be lifted, the Royal Court had called up prominent activists and warned them not to speak to the media.

‘Chilling smear campaign’ 

With a front page reading “Your betrayals have failed”, Al-Jazirah newspaper named two of those arrested as activists Loujain al-Hathloul and Aziza al-Yousef.

On Twitter – a popular tool of communication for Saudi Arabia’s young population – opinions were sharply divided.

“No place for traitors among us,” SaudiNews50 wrote.

The news website’s post also carried images of five of those detained: Hathloul, Yousef, Eman al-Nafjan, Mohammed al-Rabiya and lawyer Ibrahim al-Madmyegh.

Supporters of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, seen as the architect behind a succession of social reforms emanating from Riyadh, backed the sweep.

Referring to the detainees as “agents of the embassies”, political analyst Naif al-Asaker tweeted that anyone who did not support their arrest was either a “covert partner” or simply “ignorant”.

Amnesty International condemned the commentary of the arrests as a “chilling smear campaign” and an “extremely worrying development for women human rights defenders” in the country.

For other Saudis, the treatment of trailblazers who fought for many of the reforms now coming to fruition was a shock.

“This round of arrests was strictly targeting Saudi feminism,” tweeted Saudi-American activist Nora Abdulkarim.

Abdullah al-Aoudh, a Saudi-educated scholar now at Yale Law, said the charges did not add up.

“For those who consider these arrests to be in defence of religion and religious scholars, I’d just like to remind you that the scholars and intellectuals of the country are in jail… in the same scenario,” he tweeted.

Reform ‘frenzy of fear’ 

The detainees had not only fought for the lifting of the driving ban, but also against the kingdom’s enduring guardianship laws.

Saudi Arabia’s guardianship system requires women to obtain permission from their fathers, brothers, husbands or even sons for a host of life decisions.

Activists Hathloul and Nafjan in 2016 signed a petition to abolish Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system, according to HRW.

Madmyegh, a semi-retired lawyer, has stepped up to represent fellow rights advocates in recent years.

“Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ‘reform campaign’ has been a frenzy of fear for genuine Saudi reformers,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at HRW.

Many Saudi activists say social change will only be cosmetic without dismantling the kingdom’s guardianship system.

© – AFP, 2018

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    Mute David Naylor
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    Jun 11th 2019, 1:01 PM

    Autoglass Windscreen Repair’s stock has risen significantly since..

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    Mute Chris Linehan
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    Jun 11th 2019, 4:16 PM

    @David Naylor: Ridiculously useless fact: over here they’re called Carglass. Same jingle and all.

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    Mute David Naylor
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    Jun 11th 2019, 5:22 PM

    @Chris Linehan: it’s a joke man

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    Mute Chris Linehan
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    Jun 11th 2019, 6:10 PM

    @David Naylor: Christ. My comment was as described and just a useless fact referencing the English in their Germany based branding and their German in their Ireland based branding. Now that you’ve gone and failed to recognise the lighthearted banter and then had to identify you’re comment as the obvious joke that it was, followed by me writing this comment, means between the two of us, we’ve now sucked all the craic out of this. Sound.

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    Mute William Tallon
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    Jun 11th 2019, 2:12 PM

    There’s no scientific evidence that this event has anything to do with global warming. Giant hailstones have been recorded throughout history when the climate was both warmer and colder than it is today. It’s nothing new. It’s weather. It neither proves nor disproves if global warming is happening. For example…

    ‘On July 12, 1984, a powerful hailstorm pummeled Munich. This ferocious hailstorm travelled at 60 to 70 km/h and left some 70,000 homes with roof damage; seriously dinged more than 200,000 automobiles and about 150 aircraft; and injured more than 400 people…’

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    Mute james boylan
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    Jun 11th 2019, 2:39 PM

    @William Tallon:
    This is true. One time I was in Bavaria about 30 years ago, the same thing had happened. I saw a good number of cars that had been badly damaged by hailstones.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Jun 11th 2019, 5:14 PM

    @William Tallon: nobody is saying these kind of weather events didn’t happen before, it’s the frequency that’s a concern

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    Mute FlopFlipU
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    Jun 11th 2019, 6:12 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: when did that happen in recent times apart from this occasion

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    Mute Sean
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    Jun 11th 2019, 7:26 PM

    @FlopFlipU: in 1984

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    Mute james boylan
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    Jun 11th 2019, 8:44 PM

    @FlopFlipU:
    These events happen every year around the world.

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    Mute ed w
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    Jun 11th 2019, 2:05 PM

    you know that’s how the day after tomorrow starts

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    Mute Mike Phelan
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    Jun 11th 2019, 1:23 PM

    Zerbrochene Windschutzscheibe, Überflutungen und Chaos!
    - exactly as you might exclaim at the broken windscreen yourself!

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    Mute Brian Flavin
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    Jun 11th 2019, 1:31 PM

    Same happen golf ball size hailstones in Australia last Christmas as mine friend pictures send me , blame global warming

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    Mute Sean
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    Jun 11th 2019, 7:26 PM

    @Brian Flavin: is this a telegram?

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    Mute The Mc
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    Jun 11th 2019, 1:38 PM

    The day after tomorrow. Global warming and no1 gives a dam..

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    Mute Marianne
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    Jun 11th 2019, 2:04 PM

    More like HELL.STONES..WAKE UP LEO CLIMATE CHANGE GETTING SERIOUS NOW

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    Mute brendan H
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    Jun 12th 2019, 3:28 AM

    @Marianne: Calm down its just weather. Its happened before lots of times in history.

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    Mute TamuMassif2019
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    Jun 12th 2019, 2:36 AM

    Hello, Climate Change… Will August bring them lightening strikes and September hurricanes…

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