by LOVEDAY MORRIS
Saudi feminist Loujain al-Hathloul (far right) attended the One Young World Summit in Ottawa in 2016 alongside the new Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle (far left).
IT was just days before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s March visit to the United States when Loujain al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia’s most high profile feminists, was stopped by security officers as she drove on a highway near her university in Abu Dhabi.
The 28-year-old was taken from her vehicle and spirited away to her home country on a plane.
Hathloul spent several days in prison before being released, and she was banned from using social media or leaving the country as the Saudi heir apparent embarked on his marathon three-week public relations blitz in the United States. He met with President Donald Trump as well as Oprah Winfrey and others.
The activist’s rendition from the United Arab Emirates, where she was studying for a master’s degree, highlights the contradiction between Saudi Arabia’s public relations campaign touting reform, and the reality on the ground for those asking for basic rights for women.
It also demonstrates the close cooperation between the UAE and Saudi Arabia, which together have promoted a model in the region that prioritises stability and economic development while harshly suppressing political activism.
The details of Hathloul’s forced return were recounted by people with knowledge of the incident, who were granted anonymity because they fear reprisals. Authorities in Riyadh did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.
Despite apparently complying with Saudi Arabia’s attempts to silence her — Hathloul’s last tweet to her 316,000 followers was on March 12 — she was arrested again last week in what appeared to be a particularly brutal crackdown on female activists in the kingdom.
Vicious smear campaign
A total of seven Saudis were detained — five women and two men who had supported their cause, including a lawyer who had represented Hathloul in the past. They were accused of crimes including “suspicious contact with foreign parties” and undermining the “security and stability” of Saudi Arabia, and they have been publicly vilified in pro-government media in what activists have described as a vicious smear campaign.
“Loujain should be celebrated now,” said Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi writer now in self-imposed exile in the United States. “This is so unneeded right after the huge effort that MBS [Mohammed bin Salman] made in the United States, presenting himself as a reformer.”
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