Riyadh's jailing of rights activist poses diplomatic challenge for Biden

DUBAI • A Saudi court has sentenced prominent women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to nearly six years in prison, her family said, after her conviction in a trial that has drawn international condemnation.

Monday's verdict and sentence pose a challenge to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's relationship with US President-elect Joe Biden, who has criticised Riyadh's human rights record.

Hathloul, 31, who has been held since 2018 following her arrest along with several other women's rights activists, will appeal against the sentence, her sister said.

She was charged with seeking to change the Saudi political system and harming national security, Saudi newspapers Sabq and al-Shark al-Awsat said, under broad counter-terrorism laws.

The court suspended two years and 10 months of her sentence of five years and eight months - most already served since her arrest on May 15, 2018 - with a conditional release to follow, Hathloul's sister, Ms Lina, said.

She could therefore be released by next March, with a return to prison possible if she commits any crime, the newspapers said.

Hathloul was also banned from travel for five years, Ms Lina said, adding that the activist cried when she was sentenced.

"My sister is not a terrorist, she is an activist. To be sentenced for her activism for the very reforms that MBS and the Saudi kingdom so proudly tout is the ultimate hypocrisy," she said in a statement, referring to the prince by his initials.

Mr Cale Brown, spokesman for the US State Department, said the United States was "concerned by reports" of Hathloul's sentence.

"We've emphasised the importance of free expression and peaceful activism in Saudi Arabia as it advances women's rights.

"We look forward to her anticipated early release in 2021," he said on Twitter.

Mr Biden's incoming national security adviser Jake Sullivan appeared to reaffirm on Twitter that the administration plans to elevate human rights issues in relations with Riyadh.

Hathloul's sentencing "for simply exercising her universal rights is unjust and troubling", Mr Sullivan said in a tweet.

"As we have said, the Biden-Harris administration will stand up against human rights violations wherever they occur."

United Nations human rights experts have called the charges "spurious". The UN human rights office said the conviction was "deeply troubling" and called for Hathloul's urgent release.

Rights groups and her family say Hathloul, who campaigned for women's right to drive and to end the kingdom's male guardianship system, was subjected to abuse, including electric shocks, waterboarding, flogging and sexual assault. The Saudi authorities have denied the charges.

In 2019, Hathloul refused to rescind her allegations of torture in exchange for early release, her family has said. A court last week dismissed the allegations, citing a lack of evidence.

REUTERS