DETENTION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVISTS IN SAUDI ARABIA

That this House is very concerned about the continuing detention of Saudi women's rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul, Aziza al-Yousef, Eman al-Nafjan and Samar Badawi, many months after their arrests in 2018; is extremely alarmed by allegations that some activists have been subjected to sexual harassment, torture and ill-treatment, including electric shocks, floggings and beatings on the feet, during pre-trial detention, as reported by human rights organisations Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and ALQST (Justice), and which may be on-going; notes the recent creation of the cross-party Detention Review Panel which seeks to review the activists' detention conditions, and Saudi Arabia's failure to allow that body access to the detainees; recognises the vital role of civil society and human rights defenders in that country and the need for their protection; urges the Saudi Government to release the women activists immediately and unconditionally, along with all those detained for the peaceful expression of their opinions or their human rights work, and to allow prompt and impartial investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment to ensure those responsible are held to account; and calls on the Government to make a public statement immediately calling for the release of the detained women activists by the Saudi Government.