Saudi Arabia

Loujain al-Hathloul, Iman al-Nafjan and Aziza al-Youssef are among the activists who have been in jail since last year and were tortured and beaten up according to reports. The trial began at a criminal court in Riyadh on March 13

A three-member British parliamentary team said that Saudi authorities at the highest levels could, in principle, be responsible for the crime of torture. The women activists were among those critics of the government who were arrested last year

The 39-year-old woman was executed earlier this week on charges of murdering her employer. Rights organizations have long criticized the horrible conditions in which domestic workers are forced to work in Saudi Arabia, with the women facing abuse and rape

Human rights activists complained that the step would further worsen the conditions of the families of the refugees who were still in Bangladesh.

At least eight women activists and a few of their male colleagues have been in jail since May. The activists who had campaigned for women’s right to drive were arrested weeks before the ban on female drivers was lifted.

Despite the increase in international pressure, the Saudis seem set on their current course in an attempt to secure their energy interests. In this context, US proposals for peace and decisions to stop refuelling Saudi jets are unlikely to have any substantial impact on the conflict.