Saudi Arabia said to arrest prominent women’s rights activists

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabian authorities have arrested two high-profile women’s rights activists, Human Rights Watch says, amid what the organization calls an “unprecedented” crackdown on dissent.

Award-winning gender rights activist Samar Badawi was arrested along with fellow campaigner Nassima al-Sadah this week, “the latest victims of an unprecedented government crackdown on the women’s rights movement,” HRW says in a statement.

Their arrests “signal that the Saudi authorities see any peaceful dissent, whether past or present, as a threat to their autocratic rule,” says Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Amal al-Harbi, the wife of jailed civic rights activist Fowzan al-Harbi, was also taken into custody this week, HRW says while adding that it is unclear why she was targeted.

Saudi authorities do not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The arrests come weeks after more than a dozen women’s right campaigners were detained and accused of undermining national security and collaborating with enemies of the state. Some have since been released.

— AFP