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Saudi Arabia: Ahead of the W20 summit, CFWIJ prompts Saudi authorities to release women prisoners of conscience.

November 12, 2020, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia— The Women20 summit will be hosted by Saudi Arabia on November 25, 2020. The Coalition For Women In Journalism prompts Saudi authorities to release women prisoners of conscience Loujain Al-Hathloul, Nassima Al’Sada, Samar Badawi, Nouf Abdulaziz, and Mayaa AlZahrani.

On November 25, 2020, Saudi Arabia is to host the Women20 summit. Women20 aims to ensure that gender considerations are mainstreamed into G20 discussions that are translated through the G20 Leaders' Declaration as policies and commitments that foster gender equality and women’s economic empowerment. This is the fifth consecutive year of the summit.

The summit, that aspires to empower women and promote gender equality, will be held in a country where women's rights are oppressed, and its defenders are imprisoned for advocating for change. The summit coincides with prisoner of conscience Loujain Al-Hathloul’s ongoing hunger strike, which has lasted more than 20 days. Loujain announced a hunger strike in protest to Saudi authorities' practices against her in jail.

Loujain has been imprisoned since May 2018. Since June 6, Loujain hasn't contacted her family or sent them letters. Loujain’s family launched a social media campaign inquiring about her condition, calling upon the regime to either allow them to contact and visit her or to issue a statement clarifying her health condition.

Nassima Al’Sada has been imprisoned since August 2018 due to her campaigning for civil rights, political rights, women’s rights, and the rights of the Shi’a minority for many years. She has also campaigned for women’s right to drive and for the end of the repressive male guardianship system.

Samar Badawi was apprehended in July 2018. She is the sister of the prominent Raef Badawi, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2012 for criticism of officials in the Kingdom. Samar was advocating for women’s rights and to raise international awareness about the silencing of human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia.

Nouf Abdulaziz was arrested in June 2018. She used to write on her blog about women’s rights, Saudi detainees, reform activists on trial, and politically motivated arrests in the Kingdom.

Mayaa Al Zahrani was arrested in June 2018 following her tweeting about Nouf Abdulaziz's arrest. She is known for defending human rights and working with human rights organizations.

CFWIJ has repeatedly issued alerts and urged the UN to review and comment on the imprisonment of women’s rights defenders in Saudi Arabia.

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is appalled by the Saudi regime's hypocritical approach towards women's rights. While Saudi authorities and Prince crown, Mohamed Bin Salman, are parading their women's rights accomplishments and the ‘new face of Saudi Arabia’, women prisoners of conscience are suffering behind bars. Notwithstanding, the world is about to hold a women’s empowerment summit in that very country. CFWIJ calls upon all countries participating in the summit to submit official letters to the Saudi government urging them to release prisoners of conscience and liberate the defenders of women’s rights. ...

The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world, and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.

Follow us on Instagram @womeninjournalism and Twitter @CFWIJ. Our website is WomenInJournalism.org and we can be reached at press@womeninjournalism.org

لقراءة البيان بالعربية