In Saudi Arabia women’s rights activists are being held and tortured following allegations that they are harming the country’s interests. In June 2018, the public prosecutor in Saudi Arabia said the women detainees admitted to communicating and cooperating with individuals and organizations opposed to the kingdom. As the women await their trial, they are speaking out about their fear of harsh sentences after being imprisoned for campaigning. The U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called on Saudi Arabia for their release stating, “The persecution of peaceful activists would clearly contradict the spirit of the country’s proclaimed new reforms,”. The Saudi deputy public prosecutor told a news source that they have looked into the allegations of torture, however the allegations are “false” because no evidence has been found. In a report by The Gulf Centre for Human Rights, these women are being electrocuted, flogged, whipped, and sexually assaulted ever since their arrest in May.
Today, European countries will urge Saudi Arabia to cooperate with a U.N.-led probe into the murder Jamal Khashoggi. Khashoggi was a journalist, a critic and Washington Post columnist who was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2. It is believed that the crown prince ordered Khashoggi’s death. Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s regional director for the Middle East said in a statement, “This initiative at the UN Human Rights Council offers a rare opportunity for states to take a strong public stand against the catalogue of human rights violations by the government of Saudi Arabia. States who stay silent risk abdicating responsibility at a crucial moment and sending a dangerous message that Saudi Arabia can continue to commit egregious abuses without being held to account”