ACT NOW Saudi Arabia: Release women's rights defenders

Saudi Arabia:
release women human rights defenders

Jailed for advocating for women’s equality.

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Call on Saudi Arabia to release 'women's right to drive' activists

His Excellency

Naif Bandir

A. Alsudairy

I am deeply concerned about grave human rights violations experienced by people facing criminal charges and unjust imprisonment in the aftermath of protests over the November 2017 elections in Honduras.

Edwin Róbelo Espinal is an emblematic case. He has been ordered to remain in pre-trial detention in La Tolva prison, along with persons convicted for extremely violent crimes. The legal proceedings against him are being conducted by a court with competence on a limited list of the most serious crimes, which are not the charges he faces. His right to have access to his family and lawyer has been restricted unjustifiably, as has his right to defend himself and other due process guarantees.

This is the same unjust and unacceptable situation suffered by Raúl Eduardo Ordoῆez Álvarez, also imprisoned in La Tolva.
 
Another emblematic case involves Jhony Salgado, who police accuse of illegally carrying a weapon and police equipment during protests at which he was not even present. He was threatened and pressured into signing a “confession” he could not read. While Mr Salgado has now been released from four months in pre-trial detention, he is still facing trumped up charges.
 
Such injustices give rise to perceptions that Honduras is misusing the criminal justice system to punish and discourage dissent and legitimate social protest.

I call on to you to ensure that people are able to exercise their right to freedom of expression and peaceful protest in Honduras without fear of reprisals. 
 
In particular, I urge you to take the following concrete steps:
 
  * Ensure the right to freedom of Edwin Róbelo Espinal, Raúl Eduardo Ordoῆez Álvarez and Jhony Salgado by immediately releasing Mr Espinal and Mr Álvarez pending timely, impartial trial; dropping the charges against Mr Salgado; and ensuring guarantees of due process for all three, in line with international standards.
 
  *  Implement an immediate, transparent review of all the procedures carried out against the three men and remedy all violations of due process without delay.

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Peaceful Protest is not a Crime

In May 2018, authorities in Saudi Arabia detained University of British Columbia graduate Loujain al-Hathloul, along with Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza-al-Yousef. All three are prominent women’s rights activists and leading campaigners for lifting the ban on women driving in Saudi Arabia. They were among a group of Saudi Arabian women human rights defenders arrested in a sweeping wave of arrests.

In early August, two other women human rights defenders, Samar Badawi and Nassima al-Sada, were detained. Samar Badawi is the sister of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi.

The crackdown on freedom of expression, association and assembly in Saudi Arabia continued unabated. In late August, the Saudi authorities called for Israa al-Ghomgham and four other people to be executed for offences related to their participation in protests in the Shi’a majority Eastern Province.

Loujain, Iman, Aziza, Samar, and Nassima continue to be detained without charge.

Smeared as traitors by the Saudi media

State media in Saudi Arabia have branded the women as traitors, and have accused some of the women of forming a “cell,” posing a threat to state security for their “contact with foreign entities with the aim of undermining the country’s stability and social fabric.” Smear campaigns like this are a common tactic used worldwide to try and discredit human rights defenders.

Women human rights defenders around the world face harassment and violence because they are women, and because they may step outside traditional gender norms to publicly advocate for equality.

Loujain, Iman, Aziza, Samar, and Nassima are courageous women human rights defenders who have publicly and peacefully advocated for an end to the male guardianship system, the right to drive, and more broadly, for justice and equality. The price they are paying for their activism is steep; if charged, they could face up to 20 years in prison.

Act now > Write to the Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Canada and call for the immediate and unconditional release of the women human rights defenders.

Learn more about the jailed women human rights defenders and what you can do to help.

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Saudi Arabia: release women human rights defenders

Call on Saudi Arabia to release 'women's right to drive' activists

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Peaceful Protest is not a Crime

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Saudi Arabia:
release women human rights defenders