BREAKING NEWS - Loujain was convicted on December 28. Read here for further details.
Thirty-one year old Loujain al-Hathloul is one of the most celebrated women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia for good reason. She was one of the leaders of the campaign for Saudi women to have the right to drive vehicles. She advocated against the male guardianship system. She wanted to set up frontline services to support survivors of gender-based violence. She networked with other activists and organizations, attended international conferences, and testified on Saudi Arabia’s women’s rights record at the United Nations.
Instead of being celebrated for her tireless and impactful activism, Loujain has been jailed since 2018, subjected to torture and other forms of ill treatment, held incommunicado for long periods of time without access to independent legal counsel and family visits, charged with terrorism-related offenses, and she could face up to twenty years in prison.