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URGENT ACTION SAUDI ARABIA IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF WOMEN’S RIGHTS DEFENDERS In May of 2018, Saudi authorities arrested Loujain al-Hathloul, Eman al-Nafjan, and Aziza al-Yousef along with other prominent women’s rights activists just weeks before the country lifted the ban on women driving. These women have been arbitrarily detained in undisclosed locations for nearly one year with little or no contact with their families. The women who have been able to speak with family members have reported that in jail they have been beaten, tortured, electrocuted, and sexually harassed. These arbitrary detentions are part of a sweeping crackdown on anyone who is even perceived as a critic of the Saudi regime. The women’s rights activists have been publicly accused of working to “undermine the security” of Saudi Arabia and domestic news outlets have published the names and photos of the women stamped with the word “traitor” in a state-sponsored smear campaign. Last month, trials began for at least 11 women on charges including activism against the state’s male guardianship law, making contact with foreign journalists, and — in one case — applying for a job at the United Nations. The goals of the Freedom Drive are to raise awareness about these activists who have been detained and put on trial for advocating peacefully for basic human rights and to abolish Saudi’s male guardianship system that enslaves Saudi women. The Freedom Drive campaign will continue pushing leaders in the U.S. and abroad to enforce the Global Magnitsky Act against Saudi officials who are complicit in violating human rights.