Twenty-five year old Lujain al-Hathloula Saudi holding a valid UAE driver’s licensedrives from Abu Dhabi to Saudi Arabia’s border and attempts to cross on November 30 as a form of protest at Saudi Arabia’s driving ban for women.
Saudi authorities hold the activist in her car overnight, confiscate her passport, and then jail her on the morning of December 1. She remains in prison, according to Human Rights Watch. According to some reports, the accusations against al-Hathloul are focused on her social media activity rather than her driving.
A prominent Shiite cleric calls for peaceful rallies against what he calls systemic discrimination against the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia. The Gulf state sentences Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr to death in October for “breaking allegiance with the ruler,” “inciting sectarian strife,” and supporting violence, Saudi officials tell CNN. Nimr’s family accused the court of a politically motivated decision and continue to appeal the verdict.
A blogger starts the “Free Saudi Liberals” forum in 2008 to encourage discussion about Islam and particularly the intrusion of the religious police in personal lives. A Jeddah court convicts Raif al-Badawi of “insulting Islam” and hands down a 10-year prison term and 1,000 lashes.
Prison for female driving, death for dissent, lashes for liberalism – these are some of the punishments, human rights groups say, Saudi Arabia has handed down in recent months.
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The flogging again shines the spotlight on the nation that analysts say effectively manipulates its justice system to silence dissent and create strife among opposition on both sides of the aisle. U.S. officials have also called on Saudi officials to withdraw the sentence and review Badawi’s case. But Saudi Arabia maintains its right to carry out their laws.
“Raif Badawi and others with charges against them are afforded all legal rights including the right to attorney,” said Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed al-Muadi.
But analysts say it’s as much about the internal conflict within the country.
“The case of Raif al Badawi tells us a great deal about the polarization in Saudi society between the Islamists and the liberals,” Professor Madawi al-Rasheed explained. “The Saudi regime tries to appease both by showing as if it is equal in punishing both groups that endorse discourse or opposition.”
