My sister Loujain is outlawed and lives with the constant worry of being arrested. It’s one of many
Saudi Arabia changes its name. Since 2016, when the country first announced plans to diversify its economy, it has invested billions to make the kingdom appear more progressive in the eyes of outsiders. Women can now drive and paint in jobs that were previously forbidden to them. Large sums of money Large amounts of cash are being poured into architectural and futuristic “gigaprojects,” such as Line, an abandoned and sprawling supercity, to attract global tourism.
And yet, within the kingdom, its citizens tell a very different story. In the midst of image-building projects, according to some reports, thousands of Saudi citizens may be prevented through the state from leaving the country through arbitrary and illegal bans. ? Advocating for basic human rights.
Among them is my sister, Loujain al-Hathloul. Loujain is a prominent Saudi rights advocate who has led the crusade against the driving ban and has fought tirelessly for the abolition of the male guardianship system.
Loujain’s courageous and outspoken activism was suppressed by the Saudi government. In March 2018, she was abducted from the streets of the United Arab Emirates and forcibly returned to Saudi Arabia. Once on Saudi soil, she was subjected to an illegal ban and a ban on leaving the country, only to be arbitrarily arrested a few months later. Their fees explicitly spoke to their human rights work, and my sister was tried under the anti-terrorism law through the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), commonly used as a tool to muzzle civil society. Loujain was released from his criminal charge in February 2021 under strict conditions, adding a ban on leaving the kingdom. Their ban was intended to end, after approximately 3 years, on November 13, 2023. However, in February of this year, long after the ban. had expired, Loujain learned that he was still under a permanent ban with no expiration date. The government has never provided a justification and continues to forget about our demands.
This is the case not only for Loujain, but also for our entire family in Saudi Arabia, who discovered in 2018 that he had also been banned from travelling, without consulting any court order, and has not been able to do so since. These flagrant violations of the right to freedom of movement are in direct contradiction to foreign law as well as Saudi Arabia’s own legal framework.
Living in Saudi Arabia under a ban means living in a constant state of fear, as we know the modus operandi of the authorities. Usually, as was the case in Loujain, the kingdom forbids someone from fainting and then arrests them.
I live in Brussels and I haven’t noticed my circle of relatives for more than six years. Every day, when I wake up in the morning, I have to check if my circle of relatives is still safe. I miss them and would love the opportunity, like everyone else, to return to Saudi Arabia to see them. But I know I’d be stuck there too if I had to go back.
My family’s story is just one of many. Maryam al-Otaibi, another courageous women’s rights activist, has also experienced criminalization and repression. In 2019, he was banned from traveling illegally. When she reported her remedy on social media, she was summoned by the police and accused of speaking out about her ordeal. She was sentenced to four months in prison and fined 100,000 riyals (£21,300).
This is a systemic challenge that will not go away on its own. Despite appearances that the kingdom is becoming more progressive, the Saudi government accepts arbitrary travel bans as a tool of repression. As a result, Americans are deterred from engaging in human rights actions. for your own protection and that of your loved ones.
Since these bans have no legal basis, there is no way to officially appeal. Those affected are not informed and are only informed of the restrictions when they try to leave the kingdom. They cannot pursue their private goals or make a stopover in the circle of relatives abroad.
As Saudi Arabia seeks to raise its global profile as an increasingly moderate power, we will not have to forget the blatant hypocrisy of the government promoting tourism while denying its own citizens the basic right to freedom of movement. The foreign network will have to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its gross human rights violations, and not allow games and celebrity associations to distract from what life is like for the kingdom’s citizens.
The time has come for Saudi Arabia to open up only to tourists but also to the voice of its own people. Until then, the façade of brilliant progress will remain just that, masking a harsh truth of repression and injustice.