Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #freeloujain

Most recents (20)

Read 126 tweets
[Thread] 1/6 This one is on a large level cyber-bullying/harassment. A few days ago a trend targeting the Alhathloul family was trending in Saudi.

Tweets like that below, which targeted @LoujainHathloul's siblings things like 'traitors' were very much part of the campaign
2/6 The hashtag (Family of the humiliated) was a pun on the Alhathloul family name.

Humiliated in Arabic is mathloul. This is similar to Hathloul. It's not sophisticated, but harassment rarely is

Imagine thousands of people attacking your family on Twitter. Looks like this>
3/6 Anyway this trend produced thousands of tweets. I looked at a sample of around 13000 interactions.

Some of the most retweeted accounts include the verified @70sul , another account @saudix7m & @abdullah113438

A dominant theme was describing them as 'agents' or 'traitors
Read 6 tweets
In 2014, when she was 25, Saudi women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul was arrested for the first time for protesting the ban on women driving. She spent 73 days in a women’s detention facility and was to stand trial in terrorism court. feministgiant.com/p/for-loujain-…
She was given a royal pardon but the conflation of feminism with terrorism was being set.

In 2019 after Saudi teen Rahaf escaped and was granted refugee status in Canada, the regime made an ad which conflated women who escape male guardianship with men who join ISIS. A split screen: on the left is a man holding a rifle, on the
A columnist with a well-known newspaper called for the execution of feminists as “corruptors on earth.”

And a university labeled feminism a “threat to national security...the danger of which is no less than al-Qaeda or ISIS/Daesh.”

Feminism is an existential to the Saudi regime
Read 15 tweets
My essay on #LoujainAlhathloul: So clamorous was her courage, so loud her refusal to break that it made her more of a liability for the #Saudi regime inside prison than outside, so they sent her home, where her enforced silence would be a reprieve for them
feministgiant.com/p/for-loujain-…
Loujain’s astonishing courage and tenacity have long wrong-footed the Saudi regime. In 2014, when she was 25, she was arrested for the first time while attempting to drive across the border from the United Arab Emirates - where she had a valid driver’s licence - to Saudi Arabia.
In March 2018, the Saudis considered Loujain such a threat that they had her rendered from the UAE, where she was studying. She was stopped by security officers as she drove on a highway near her uni in Abu Dhabi, taken from her vehicle & forcibly returned to her home country.
Read 15 tweets
Today marks 1,000 days in prison for #Saudi feminist @LoujainHathloul. She has been brutally tortured and went on hunger strike twice. Loujain was sentenced to nearly 6 years for fighting for Saudi women.

We remember you, Loujain.

#FreeLoujain unconditionally!
I wrote this soon after Loujain was detained in May 2018 as part of #Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman’s crackdown against 3 generations of feminists who’d been fighting not just vs driving ban but the guardianship system -the foundation of patriarchy
nytimes.com/2018/06/18/opi…
And here is more background on the women’s rights activists who were detained and put on trial as part of that crackdown

On 15 May 2018, a number of prominent Saudi women’s human rights activists were arrested. amnesty.org/en/latest/news…
Read 4 tweets
I wrote this soon after #LoujainAlHathloul (sentenced to ~6yrs) and other women’s rights activists were arrested in 2018. The absolute monarchy in #Saudi Arabia is punishing them because the regime does not want people to think feminist activism works google.com/amp/s/www.nyti…
Feminism terrifies authoritarians. The absolute monarchy in #Saudi Arabia is punishing #LoujainAlHathloul because her activism works. She and other women’s rights activists are the reason the driving ban was lifted. The regime wants us to believe that freedom is given not taken.
The #Saudi regime wants to make it clear that it was not the courageous advocacy of those feminists that led to lifting the ban on women’s driving, but rather the grace of a crown prince engaged in ferocious revisionism. #LoujainAlHathloul #FreeLoujain
Read 7 tweets
This is outrageous: a #Saudi anti-terrorism court has sentenced women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to nearly 6yrs in prison. The Saudi regime considers feminism a form of terrorism! google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.… #FreeLoujain
Loujain, who has been detained since May 2018, was “found guilty...on charges including agitating for change, pursuing a foreign agenda and using the internet to harm public order.”

So vicious is the #Saudi regime’s misogyny, it equates advocating for women’s rights to terrorism
Loujain long campaigned for women to be able to drive and for an end to the kingdom's notorious guardianship system, which requires women to get permission from male relatives for many decisions. google.com/amp/s/amp.fran…
Read 13 tweets
(THREAD) Saudi Arabia appointed a new female ambassador : @amalalmoallimi. Amal visited my sister @LoujainHathloul in prison. She is aware of the torture, she noticed it and decided to hide it and to leave my sister in prison without any protection.
On the 26 th of Nov2018, the Saudi Human rights comm.@HRCSaudi, a government body, visited Loujain in prison. Amal AlMoalimi was part of the commission. The visit was organized when we, as sibilings of Loujain, started talking publicly about the torture Loujain endured in prison.
The delegation asked our sister about her treatment in prison. She told them everything that had happened to her from electrocution to sexual harassment by the then-royal court advisor Saud AlQahtani.
Read 10 tweets
(THREAD) Saudi Arabia appointed a new female ambassador : @amalalmoallimi. Amal visited my sister @LoujainHathloul in prison. She is aware of the torture, she noticed it and decided to hide it and to leave my sister in prison without any protection.
On the 26 th of Nov2018, the Saudi Human rights comm.@HRCSaudi, a government body, visited Loujain in prison. Amal AlMoalimi was part of the commission. The visit was organized when we, as sibilings of Loujain, started talking publicly about the torture Loujain endured in prison.
The delegation asked our sister about her treatment in prison. She told them everything that had happened to her from electrocution to sexual harassment by the then-royal court advisor Saud AlQahtani.
Read 10 tweets
#Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain Alhathloul has begun another hunger strike to demand more contact with family.

Loujain has been jailed since May 2018 and has been tortured and threatened with rape.

For being a feminist. cbc.ca/news/canada/br…
“In prison, my sister has been subjected to all forms of torture and degradation, including sexual abuse. I fear for her safety, and for her life, every day, @LinaAlhathloul washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/… #FreeLoujain
“Though Saudi Arabia was celebrated for lifting its ban on women driving in 2018, at least 11 of the activists instrumental in advancing that right were imprisoned.” #FreeLoujain
Read 4 tweets
I was invited by #Women20 #W20 #SaudiArabia (an official #G20 engagement group) to moderate its summit in October. I have declined as I stand in solidarity with women's rights defenders in Saudi Arabia & beyond, including #LoujainAlhathloul, who remains in prison in the country.
Per her sister @LinaAlhathloul, from Aug. 31:

"My parents visited Loujain today. She was on a hunger strike for 6 days after acknowledging some detainees are allowed to call and not her. Her health was deteriorating extremely during her hunger strike."
Read 3 tweets
Reporting that the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia personally hacked the phone of Jeff Bezos is terrifying; MBS is a murderer who has also imprisoned and tortured human rights activists, including @LoujainHathloul. But it gets scarier. 1/ theguardian.com/technology/202…
It means MBS almost certainly owns the Trump family, via desperate failson Jared Kushner.

Quick context: 2/
In 2005, Charles Kushner went to prison for illegal campaign contributions, tax evasion, and witness tampering (he hired a prostitute to seduce his sister's husband, who was cooperating with the Feds, recorded them, and sent the tape to his sister.) 3/ cbsnews.com/news/nj-scanda…
Read 16 tweets
#Saudi feminist Loujain Al-Hathloul has been in solitary confinement for more than 7 months. The #Saudi regime detained her in 2018 for her fight to end the ban on women driving & male guardianship. Support her nomination to the Nobel Peace Prize.

change.org/p/professors-n…
Loujain Al-Hathloul, 29, has been waterboarded, subjected to electric shocks and threatened with rape. We remember you, Loujain. #FreeLoujain
Here is a thread with background that I have been posting since Nov 2018 when reports first surfaced of the torture that Loujain and other detained women’s rights activists have been subjected to #FreeLoujain
Read 4 tweets
Today marks 500 days since the #Saudi regime detained Loujain al-Hathloul for fighting the ban on women driving and to end male guardianship. She has been waterboarded, subjected to electric shocks and threatened with rape. We remember you, Loujain. #FreeLoujain
#FreeLoujain
Here is a thread with background that I have been posting since Nov 2018 when reports first surfaced of the torture that Loujain and other detained women’s rights activists have been subjected to
Read 3 tweets
In January, I wrote a thread about meeting @LoujainHathloul and Fahad Albutairi. Since then, I've been involved in advocating for Loujain's release from prison, where she has been held and tortured for over a year and where, today, she spends her 30th birthday... #FreeLoujain
The failure of the US government to push for the release of Loujain and other human rights' activists (or for the punishment of those responsible for the murder of @JKhashoggi) is one of many stains left on the world by the Trump administration.
Members of Congress have pushed for sanctions, called for justice. Meanwhile, Trump and his family make side deals with MbS, taking payoffs for nuclear tech and weapons. Jared Kushner is on his way to KSA right now. Will he mention Loujain? Unlikely. There's no money in that.
Read 6 tweets
As long as MBS has our executive branch (and large chunks of the GOP) in his pocket, he will ignore questions/resolutions/condemnation from Congress.

What can concerned citizens do? 1/3
Saudi Arabia is pushing Vision 2030 – a pivot to thrive in a post-Peak Oil world. They want to be seen as a comfortable place for western companies to do business. They’ve made deals with @SixFlags to build amusement parks. Feel free to not go to @SixFlags and tell them why. 2/3
See if a performer you like is getting paid to do a concert, the way @MariahCarey, @pitbull, and @tiesto have. Ask them to not go – or to at least use their platform to speak out about human rights. Don’t let KSA artwash its abuses. #FreeLoujain 3/3

amp.cnn.com/cnn/2019/01/31…
Read 3 tweets
The Saudi government’s official story is that @JKhashoggi was killed by rogue agents. Just some guys one degree from the powerful Crown Prince who decided to ambush a US resident, murder him, butcher him, BUILD AN OVEN, and cremate him over a few days. 1/ aljazeera.com/news/2019/03/j…
That’s a crazy story. Only an idiot would believe it... 2/ thedailybeast.com/trump-rogue-ki…
An idiot who has dedicated his life to losing the money his dad gave him, only to be bailed out by people who could use him. Like Jeff Zucker, who put him on The Apprentice. Or Russia, who put him in the White House. Or the Saudis. 3/
Read 17 tweets
.@LoujainHathloul and other women advocated for the right to drive in Saudi Arabia. Last year, shortly before granting that right (to much fanfare about the new, “progressive” Kingdom) Prince MbS had Loujain kidnapped from Dubai, where she was living. Others were also taken. 1/
Like Samar Badawi, who was given the International Women of Courage Award by the U.S. State Department in 2012. 2/
slate.com/news-and-polit…
They were put in jail without being charged. They were tortured. 3/nytimes.com/2019/01/13/opi…
Read 12 tweets
There was once a study that gathered a hundred or so people in an auditorium and asked each one to write on a piece of paper how much money they would need to earn in a year to feel financially secure.

Then they passed the piece of paper to the person on their right. 1/
The group had been selected to represent a wide socioeconomic range. So someone who currently earned a million dollars a year could be sitting next to someone making $30k. What was striking, though, was that everyone generally wrote down the same number. 2/
Roughly 50% more than they were currently making. 3/
Read 18 tweets
#SaudiArabia has committed numerous human rights violations. The murder of #JamalKhashoggi is by no means the only reason why the West should consider their relationship and in particular should #StopArmingSaudi #JusticeForJamal
On 17 June 2012 @raif_badawi was arrested on the charge of “insulting Islam through electronic channels”. He had a liberal discussion forum in Saudi Arabia. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, 1000 lashes & a fine. On 9 January 2015 he received the first 50 lashes. #FreeRaif
.@raif_badawi is still in prison in #SaudiArabia. His wife @miss9afi and his children live in Canada and are Canadian citizens. The family has not seen Raif for more than 6 years. @miss9afi campaigns tirelessly for his release. #FreeRaif #RoyalPardon4Raif ciluna27.wordpress.com/2016/03/10/rai…
Read 17 tweets

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