Loujain al-Hathloul, sexually assaulted and tortured in Saudi Arabia prisons
Activists, including prominent women’s rights campaigner Loujain al-Hathloul, were sexually assaulted and tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia prisons, according to a report.
Ms al-Hathloul was among a number of people arrested during
a 2018 crackdown on human rights figures by the Saudi authorities.
She has long maintained that she was tortured after her
arrest in 2018 with water boarding, electric shocks and threats of rape.
But following her conditional release from detention in
February, a Saudi appeals court rejected that claim. However, an anonymous
guard who spoke to Human Rights Watch has said she was touched inappropriately
and verbally abused.
“Loujain al-Hathloul was subjected to sexual harassment
unprecedented to me from what I’ve witnessed,” the guard wrote in a text to
HRW. They were relishing insulting her.
"They were mocking her that she is liberated and would
not mind the harassment such as sticking their hands into her underwear or
touching her thighs or spouting degrading words at her.”
Saudi prosecution services maintain that investigations have
taken place and no evidence was found.
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