Thread by @LinaAlhathloul

Pls take 2 min of your time to read this thread :
The Saudi ambassador to the UK has made the suggestion that Loujain& other women activists could be released from jail as an act of royal “clemency” to help the kingdom’s international reputation ahead of the #G20 summit. 1/..

Amb. Khalid bin Bandar’s remarks to the British Guardian newspaper confirm that his government is more concerned with its international reputation and foreign investment than with the rule of law, justice and human rights, let alone “women’s empowerment”.

theguardian.com/world/2020/nov…

Why float the possibility in the Western media, when if the #Saudi authorities wanted to release the women they could do so at any time, and reap the political benefit? It looks like a purely PR exercise.

The #Saudi authorities are clearly feeling the mounting international pressure to release women rights activists whose trials, on spurious charges, have been repeatedly postponed. Meanwhile my sister among others has been tortured in detention and sexually abused.

The amb. says the idea of pardoning the women as a sop to international opinion is being discussed “within our political system and within our ministry” (ie the foreign ministry).

In other words, the women’s continued detention is a political issue, not a judicial one. This vividly illustrates the lack of independence of the #Saudi judiciary.

@LoujainHathloul has already previously refused the offer of release on condition of her making a video statement that she was not tortured. She WAS brutally tortured, and in the presence of Crown Prince #MBS’s henchman Saud al-Qahtani.

And how disingenous to argue that “we are not a western nation and people need to understand that some of our beliefs are different"!

This game of don’t-you-dare-criticise-our-cultural-values is a fraud. The Saudi authorities are not defending the values of Saudi Arabian citizens but those of their own tyrany

The Saudi authorities ape Western behaviour in so many ways, but always refuse to let outsiders criticise their denial of what are in fact universal values of human rights and freedoms, many of which KSA has formally signed up to.

The ambassador also made many false statements in the interview :

He said the Saudi courts had found the women guilty — UNTRUE. No sentence has yet been passed.

He said the foreign ministry was debating whether the women's continued detention was worth the political damage to Saudi Arabia — when even #MBS said in a CBS interview that it was up to the public prosecutor to decide the issue.

Once again, he’s explicitly admitting that the women’s continued detention is a political issue, not a judicial one, as far as the authorities are concerned.

Ambassador Khalid said the women were found guilty of “more than advocating the right to drive” — but all of the charges against Loujain are about her rights activism.

She’s accused of speaking out about the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, including being in contact with Amnesty International and with UK diplomats.

It sounds reasonable to say that “if people knowingly break our laws they should be punished according to those laws”, but the charges against Loujain barely refer to any laws! All her activism was peaceful and legitimate.

And, when he puts the argument that it might be better to “let them out, let them live their lives and ignore them”, the ambassador shows a profound lack of understanding of civil society and the importance of dialogue and debate.

/END

In other words, the women’s continued detention is a political issue, not a judicial one. This vividly illustrates the lack of independence of the #Saudi judiciary.

@LoujainHathloul has already previously refused the offer of release on condition of her making a video statement that she was not tortured. She WAS brutally tortured, and in the presence of Crown Prince #MBS’s henchman Saud al-Qahtani.

And how disingenous to argue that “we are not a western nation and people need to understand that some of our beliefs are different"!

This game of don’t-you-dare-criticise-our-cultural-values is a fraud. The Saudi authorities are not defending the values of Saudi Arabian citizens but those of their own tyranny

The Saudi authorities ape Western behaviour in so many ways, but always refuse to let outsiders criticise their denial of what are in fact universal values of human rights and freedoms, many of which KSA has formally signed up to.

The ambassador also made many false statements in the interview :

He said the Saudi courts had found the women guilty — UNTRUE. No sentence has yet been passed.

He said the foreign ministry was debating whether the women's continued detention was worth the political damage to Saudi Arabia — when even #MBS said in a CBS interview that it was up to the public prosecutor to decide the issue.

Once again, he’s explicitly admitting that the women’s continued detention is a political issue, not a judicial one, as far as the authorities are concerned.

Ambassador Khalid said the women were found guilty of “more than advocating the right to drive” — but all of the charges against Loujain are about her rights activism.

She’s accused of speaking out about the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, including being in contact with Amnesty International and with UK diplomats.

It sounds reasonable to say that “if people knowingly break our laws they should be punished according to those laws”, but the charges against Loujain barely refer to any laws! All her activism was peaceful and legitimate.

And, when he puts the argument that it might be better to “let them out, let them live their lives and ignore them”, the ambassador shows a profound lack of understanding of civil society and the importance of dialogue and debate.

/END