Case History: Fawzia Al-Oyouni
On 15 June 2013, human rights defenders Ms Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Ms Fawzia Al-Oyouni were sentenced to ten months imprisonment to be followed by a two year travel ban by the District Court in Al-Khobar. The human rights defenders were arrested on 7 June 2011 and briefly held on charges of trying to sabotage the marital relationship between a Canadian woman and her Saudi husband.
Fawzia Al-Oyouni has long campaigned for women's rights in Saudi Arabia and supported women victims of domestic abuse. she was a active participant in the women's rights campaign “My Country”, and has also demanded that women be granted the right to drive a car.
On 24 September 2013, the Court of Appeal in Dammam upheld the sentence against human rights defenders Ms Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Ms Fawzia Al-Oyouni despite evidence that the trial fell short of international standards of fairness.
Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni have long campaigned for women's rights in Saudi Arabia and supported women victims of domestic abuse. They were active participants in the women's rights campaign and have also demanded that women be granted the right to drive a car.
The two human rights defenders were arrested on 7 June 2011 and sentenced on 15 June 2013 to ten months' imprisonment. The sentence also includes a subsequent two-year travel ban under the Sharia law offence of takhbib (incitement of a wife to defy the authority of her husband).
Front Line Defenders urges the Saudi authorities to revoke the charges against the human rights defenders as they are solely based on their peaceful and legitimate work in defence of women's rights in Saudi Arabia.
On 15 June 2013, human rights defenders Ms Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Ms Fawzia Al-Oyouni were sentenced to ten months imprisonment to be followed by a two year travel ban by the District Court in Al-Khobar. The human rights defenders were arrested on 7 June 2011 and briefly held on charges of trying to sabotage the marital relationship between a Canadian woman and her Saudi husband.
Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni have long campaigned for women's rights in Saudi Arabia and supported women victims of domestic abuse. They were active participants in the women's rights campaign and have also demanded that women be granted the right to drive a car.
On 7 June 2011, the human rights defenders received a text message saying that a woman and her three children were being imprisoned against their will, deprived of food and subjected to violence by the woman's husband.
The human rights defenders brought some food to the house but discovered that the husband had sent the message in order to trap them.The police arrived and arrested the human rights defenders on charges of attempting to smuggle the woman and her children to the Canadian Embassy in Riyadh.
The human rights defenders were acquitted of these charges, but were sentenced under the Sharia law offence of takhbib, or incitement of a wife to defy the authority of her husband. The sentencing comes in a difficult context for women and women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia. Women are heavily dependent on male guardians, and are required to have a male relative with them in order to enter government buildings and courts.
Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni issued a statement on 15 June 2013, in which they state that the motivations for the case against them were malicious, and that it was an attempt to silence them and stop their work in defence of human rights and women's rights.
This is demonstrated in particular by the fact that the Emir of the Eastern Region had already considered the case and decided to close it. The two human rights defenders have announced that they will appeal the sentence.
Front Line Defenders condemns the sentencing of Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Fawzia Al-Oyouni, as the convictions are solely based on their peaceful and legitimate work in defence of women's rights in Saudi Arabia.
