Campaign intensifies to free renowned Saudi women's-rights activist and UBC alumna Loujain al-Hathloul

 The #StudentsForLoujain movement wants the Canadian government to ramp up pressure on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia's ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been employing many public-relations tactics to persuade the world that he's not a bloodthirsty dictator.He's befriended White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, son-in-law of Donald Trump. In addition, the Saudi strongman has backed off criticizing the State of Israel.

MBS, as he's known, has even plastered his face on billboards in the U.K., purporting that he's opening Saudi Arabia to the world.

But the world will never forget how Washington Post columnist Jamal Ahmad Khashoggi, a fierce critic of MBS, was executed and dismembered by Saudi agents inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.

And in 2019, Saudi authorities escalated their repressive tactics at home, according to Amnesty International, cracking down on freedom of expression and freedom of assembly.

"They harassed, arbitrarily detained and prosecuted dozens of government critics, human rights defenders, including women’s rights activists, members of the Shi’a minority and family members of activists. Shi’a activists and religious clerics remained on trial before a counter-terror court for expressing dissent," Amnesty International stated in its country report on Saudi Arabia.

"The authorities used the death penalty extensively, carrying out scores of executions for a range of crimes, including drug offences."

#StudentsForLoujain campaign launched

Now, a former University of British Columbia student is caught up in the horrific Saudi legal system. And students in Canada are trying to free her.Loujain al-Hathloul, 31, could face 20 years in jail, according to the Guardian.She's being tried in terrorism court—yes, terrorism court—reportedly for "defying the country's ban on women driving and for campaigning for an end to the male guardianship system, which makes women second-class citizens".Driving while female is still a crime in that country, regardless of what you're being told by public relations consultants on MBS's payroll.Her relatives have told the Guardian that she's been sexually assaulted and tortured. That won't come as a surprise to Canadians who are familiar with the story of William Sampson.He was a Canadian and former member of the Seaforth Highlanders in Vancouver who was subjected to similar abuse at the hands of Saudi prison guards. This was after being sentenced to death for a bomb blast that was actually done not by him, but by opponents of the Saudi regime.

Sampson died prematurely of a heart attack in his early 50s, no doubt a result of what he endured at the hands of this vicious and despicable regime.

MBS's charm offensive in the West should be seen for what it is—a disgusting attempt to cover up his continuing assault on freedom and his stained reputation as one of the worst human-rights abusers in the world.The proof is on display in the execution of Khashoggi, the imprisonment and likely torture of writer Raif Badawi, and the trial and abuse of al-Hathloul, who should be seen as a national hero for her bravery.

Students across Canada are campaigning for al-Hathloul's freedom by trying to pressure Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne to escalate efforts to liberate her from this tyrannical treatment.

"As a member of our student community, Ms. Al-Hathloul is the embodiment of the values of equity, equality, and justice that we strive to uphold," UBC student associations stated in their letter to the minister.

"Loujain has been a bold and courageous champion for women's rights," they continued. "As an advocate, she has stood up for women's rights to operate vehicles and for opposing laws around male guardianship."

They're using the hashtag #StudentsForLoujain.

The Concordia Student Union, Capilano Students' Union, University of Victoria Students' Society, Camosun College Student Society, Douglas Students Union, Emily Carr Students Union, Justice Institute Students' Union, and several others have joined the campaign.

You can participate too by writing to the foreign affairs minister or by making your views known over social media.

The world has largely turned a blind eye to Saudi Arabia's war crimes in Yemen, done with the complicity of the United States. That's been documented by Human Rights Watch.

Everyone knows what a ghastly human being MBS is. If he's truly interested in conducting some genuine public relations that makes a real difference in the world, he'll step in and stop the persecution of Loujain al-Hathloul.

That's the very least he could do to convince the world that he's not an utterly irredeemable thug.

https://www.straight.com/news/campaign-intensifies-to-free-renowned-saudi-womens-rights-activist-and-ubc-alumna-loujain-al