Women for ‘terror’ court over driving ban

Two Saudi women detained for nearly a month for defying a ban on females driving have been referred to a court for terrorism cases

Activists say it marks the first time that women drivers have been referred to the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh, and that their detention is the longest of female drivers in Saudi history.

Four people close to Loujain al-Hathloul, 25, and Maysa al-Amoudi, 33, say they are not being charged for defying the driving ban but for opinions that they had voiced online.

They said the women’s defence lawyers immediately appealed the judge’s decision to transfer their cases to the court.

An appeals court in Dammam, the capital of Eastern Province, is expected to rule on the referral in the coming days, they said.

Human Rights Watch recently warned that “Saudi authorities are ramping up their crackdown on people who peacefully criticise the government on the internet”.