A statement on the sentencing of Loujain al-Hathloul and the Saudi women activists

The party’s statements


The National assembly Party (NAAS) is standing in solidarity with the activist Loujain al-Hathloul against the unfair and politicized sentences which she received for her advocacy for human rights and feminism, the part is joining the international and the Saudi civil society in rejecting the sentences against her, including imprisonment for about six years and a travel ban for an equal time afterward, the party also refjects the negligence and denial of the Saudi authorities of her claims of torture and ill-treatment which have been demonstrated in smear campaigns in the media and pronologed pretrial detention, and travel bans, in addition to the horrendous torture in absence of visitation or legal representation and a frequent denial of family visits while in detention, her family was also punished with travel bans and legal harassment along her detention, the party rejects as well the similar sentences issued against the activist Mia al-Zahrani and the other imprisoned women’s rights activists.

 

The party realizes that such unfair treatment against Loujain al-Hathloul is a systematic practice against every female citizen who is involved in promoting human rights and combating gender-based discrimination, and a group of women’s rights activists remain in prison and facing the same sentences, inclduing Samar Badawi, Nasima al-Sadah, and Nouf Abdulaziz after a prolonged pretrial detention of almost three years, theses sentences in reality aims to scraping of the Saudi civil society and holding it in a perpetual siege to prevent its members from practicing their vital role in exposing the violations against women and working to correct them, the party realized that such sentences wouldn’t have been issued without the tireless advocacy of the families to bring about justice, therefore stands with the families of the prisoners of conscience and activists of women’s rights and himan rights who seek to expose the details of the unfair trials, torture, and the inhumane and ill-tretament as a significant method to reform the legal course, achieve transparency and reach justice, the party repeats its calls for the Saudi authorities to end all forms of targeting and political arrests against men and women activists and hold those involved in torture from the state security accountable to guarantee justice and to bring about real reforms in women’s rights.