Saudi Arabia: Women’s Rights Activists Remain Imprisoned

Saudi Arabia has received criticism in recent months for its continued imprisonment of five women’s rights activists: Loujain al-Hathloul, Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Sada, Nouf Abdulaziz and Maya’a al-Zahrani, who were all arrested in 2018. Seven European human rights ambassadors, as well as rights group Amnesty International, have called for the release of these five women’s rights activists and declared that peaceful activism is not a crime. 

On Nov. 29, these seven ambassadors argued for the release of all political detainees, including the five Saudi Arabian women’s rights activists. Their statement also expressed regret that the cases of two of the activists, Hathloul and Badawi, have been referred to the Special Criminal Court, which tries terrorism and national security cases. 

Hathloul, the most high-profile of the five activists, was arrested in May 2018 during a sweep targeting opponents of Saudi Arabia’s law prohibiting women from driving, just a few weeks before the ban was lifted. Hathloul’s activism consisted of peaceful protests, most conducted through social media, such as a video of herself driving posted in 2013. After her 2018 arrest, Hathloul was held without charges for 10 months, denied any outside communication for the first three months, and was tortured throughout. In March 2019, she was finally charged with promoting women’s rights, protesting for the end of Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system, and communicating with other activists as well as international organizations and the media. On Nov. 25, 2020, Hathloul appeared in court again, reportedly weak from a two-week hunger strike protesting the conditions of her imprisonment. Her case was transferred to the Special Criminal Court. 

Badawi, Sada, Abdulaziz and Zahrani were arrested during the same sweep as Hathloul in 2018, along with eight other women who have since been released. Like Hathloul, the four other women protested the state of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, specifically the driving ban on women and the male guardianship system. This process forces women to have a male guardian who makes important decisions, such as her ability to work or access health care, for her. Abdulaziz and Zahrani both worked as journalists before their arrests, as well as running blogs where they wrote about women’s rights. 

On Oct. 26-27, Saudi Arabia hosted this year’s virtual B-20 summit, a subgroup of the G-20 summit, which aims to prevent international crises. The G-20 group is made up of 19 countries and the European Union. The B-20 summit is made up of businesses from the G-20 group and focuses on business policy development. In 2020, women’s empowerment was one of the key topics at the B-20 summit, despite Saudi Arabia’s continued detainment of women’s rights activists. Amnesty International urged participants not to “be fooled by this shameless hypocrisy” and to support human rights over business opportunities. Amnesty International also released a statement on Nov. 19, before the Saudi-hosted G-20 summit took place virtually, urging G-20 leaders to call for the “immediate and unconditional release” of the activists.  

Saudi Arabia has rejected the calls to release the five women, and they and other human rights activists remain in prison. 

To Get Involved: 

Donate to Front Line Defenders, which protects and supports human rights activists around the world, by clicking here. 

Learn more about the situation in Saudi Arabia by visiting Amnesty International, which campaigns for global human rights, by clicking here, or find Amnesty International petitions and volunteer or donation opportunities by clicking here. 

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Rachel Lynch

Rachel is a student at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY currently taking a semester off. She plans to study Writing and Child Development. Rachel loves to travel and is inspired by the places she’s been and everywhere she wants to go. She hopes to educate people on social justice issues and the history and culture of travel destinations through her writing.

Locked Up: Unmasking Australia’s Aboriginal Youth Prison Crisis

The Aboriginal people have been severely marginalized by Australia’s government, but among the most impacted are the group’s children.

A young Aboriginal girl. mingzhuxia. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Indigenous people make up approximately 3% of Australia’s overall population and are considered the country’s most disadvantaged group. It is believed that the Aboriginal people lived in Australia for over 47,000 years prior to European colonization. Even today, the Aboriginal people continue to suffer some of the consequences of violent colonization such as low literacy rates, low life expectancy and a high unemployment rate.

Aboriginal children in particular are 30 times more likely to be stopped and prosecuted than other Australian youths. This reveals a pattern of racial profiling and stereotyping that has been called out by protests affiliating with the U.S.’s Black Lives Matter movement. 

Progress was made in 2018, when police in Western Australia apologized for practicing “forceful removal,” the separation of Indigenous children from their families. Forceful removal was popular throughout the late 19th century and was legal until 1969. Many refer to those impacted by forceful removal as the “Stolen Generation.” 

Since May 26, 1998, Australians have observed “National Sorry Day” as a way to apologize to the Aboriginal people for the harmful practice. It is a nationwide campaign committed to paying homage to affected groups while teaching youth of Australia’s harmful past actions. In 2008, former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a proposal in front of Parliament to help bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. 

Australia’s National Sorry Day in 2015. butupa. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Yet, the gap between the Aboriginal community and other Australians remains as wide as ever. In February, the police of New South Wales revealed details about the Suspect Targeting Management Plan, which is intended to prevent future crimes by targeting likely or repeat offenders. Reports from 2016 to 2018 show that up to 72% of targeted children were likely from Indigenous descent. The youngest child identified was 9 years old. 

The minimum age of criminal responsibility in Australia is one of the lowest in the world, allowing children as young as 10 to be sentenced to jail. Additionally, Aboriginal children are 17 times  more likely to be jailed than non-Indigenous youth. Statistics from Western Australia say that 60 to 70% of children currently being held in the state’s detention centers are of an Aboriginal background. 

As of now, very little research proves that locking up children reduces criminal activity in the future. In fact, youth already in the criminal justice system are far more likely to be repeat offenders, challenging the original intent of New South Wales’ Suspect Target Management Plan. 

There is a push by lawyers and advocacy groups to raise the age of criminal responsibility in Australia to at least 14. Others believe that an alternative is to provide better health care and other social services in an attempt to elevate Aboriginal children’s socioeconomic standing. The end goal would be to improve their overall quality of life, allowing for better employment opportunities and an end to the societal obstacles currently facing the group.

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Eva Ashbaugh

Eva is a Political Science and Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies double major at the University of Pittsburgh. As a political science major concentrating on International Relations, she is passionate about human rights, foreign policy, and fighting for equality. She hopes to one day travel and help educate people to make the world a better place.

Outrage Mounts as Colombian Soldiers Admit to Rape of an Indigenous Girl

On June 25, seven soldiers of the Colombian army confessed to raping a 13-year-old Indigenous girl from the Embera tribe. She was discovered at a nearby school after having gone missing from her home in the department of Risaralda on June 21. Upon seeing that the young girl could barely walk, she was sent to a hospital and then forensic services along with receiving assistance from the Organization of Indigenous Nations of Colombia (ONIC). Luis Fernando Arias, senior adviser for ONIC, told CNN that the girl “was kidnapped and raped for a period of 17 hours.” The Embera community requested that the soldiers be tried under their own laws along with ONIC “demanding that they be tried under Indigenous law, arguing that it's their jurisdiction since the alleged crime was against an Indigenous person, on Indigenous land.” 

Since the alleged rape, the seven men accused were fired along with three of their superiors. The country’s attorney general, Francisco Barbosa, stated that if found guilty the men could face 16 to 30 years in prison, but Colombian President Ivan Duque urged a life sentence for the accused soldiers. He stated that, “If we have to inaugurate the life in prison penalty with them, we're going to do it with them. And we are going to use it so that these bandits and scoundrels get a lesson.” Although many are asking for the imprisonment of the soldiers, Gimena Sanchez, Andes director of the think tank Washington Office on Latin America, believes that, “There needs to be education and consciousness raising within the armed forces on how to treat and how to engage with ethnic minorities. Not just with Indigenous but also Afro-Colombians.” 

The country’s response was that of fury, albeit bereft of shock due to the long-standing systemic issue of soldiers' abuse and violence against Indigenous women and girls in Colombia. On July 2, after pressure mounted and Indigenous groups held protests against the gender-based violence of Indigenous women, Colombian Army Commander General Eduardo Zapateiro publicly disclosed that 118 soldiers had been investigated due to incidents of sexual violence against minors since 2016, and of those only 45 have been fired. Despite these statistics, Zapateiro stated that, “These abuses are not systemic conduct. Understand that we are 241,000 men, who every day give everything for the Colombian people.” His argument is that this is not a systemic issue but since the reporting of this story, other cases of sexual violence against Indigenous girls have emerged. One case that was not widely reported until now reveals that a 15-year-old girl from the Nukak Maku Indigenous tribe was kidnapped, tortured and raped in the military barracks of troops in the southern Guaviare department. 

Colombia is not exempt from the pandemic of sexual violence that affects women all over the globe but following a vote against a peace referendum to end the conflict in Colombia, women are disproportionately enduring violence on a systemic level. Colombia has the 10th highest rate of femicide in the world, according to U.N. data. The Colombian Femicide Foundation documented that “8,532 women and girls reported that they had experienced sexual violence in the first five months of this year. More than 5,800 were under the age of 18.” The outcome of this case may bring hope to those who want to see justice in the form of imprisonment, but the culture that normalized violence toward women remains. 

Hanna Ditinsky

is a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is majoring in English and minoring in Economics. She was born and raised in New York City and is passionate about human rights and the future of progressivism.

Rising Number of Coronavirus Cases Heightens Concerns About Prison Populations

As calls for the world’s population to practice social distancing have ramped up, it calls in to question a certain population that cannot practice social distancing: inmates. Prisons keep inmates in very close quarters, are overcrowded, and often lack proper sanitary conditions—three conditions that go against what the general American populace has been told to do to prevent spreading the coronavirus. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommended limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people, social distancing, maintaining a six-foot distance between people, and to avoid shaking hands. Concerts, weddings, funerals, conferences, and other events were cancelled because of the precautions the CDC recommended, but it was only recently that some US states began discussing and preparing to release inmates.

Over the past two weeks the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has released inmates, reducing its inmate population by 600.

On March 19, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will begin releasing some inmates, “including people who were arrested for minor crimes and those most vulnerable to infection due to underlying health problems,” according to the BBC. On the same day, it was reported that Rikers Island, a massive prison in NYC, saw the first confirmed case of the coronavirus in an inmate, according to Al Jazeera.

Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill announced plans to release 90 inmates from the Salt Lake County jail on March 20. As many as 200 could be released in the coming days, according to The Salt Lake Tribune.

Prisoners Cannot “Flatten the Curve”

The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world. According to a report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, “an estimated 6,613,500 persons were under the supervision of U.S. adult correctional systems on December 31, 2016.” The population far surpasses the population of cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston; only New York City has a larger population at 8,398,748 as of July 2018. Overcrowded prisons cannot practice what the CDC has recommended regarding social distancing.

Jails and prisons are often dirty and lack medical resources and hygienic materials. The CDC recommends covering your mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough, to wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol, and to sanitize frequently used surfaces. But it is not possible for most inmates to adhere to the CDC’s recommendations since, according to The Marshall Project, “access to toilet paper or tissues is often limited and covering your mouth can be impossible if you’re handcuffed, either because of security status or during transport to another facility.” 

At a news conference on March 10, 2018, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed bottles of hand sanitizer made by New York inmates. As described in a directive from the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, inmates are not allowed to possess anything with alcohol in it. The very same inmates who are making the hand sanitizer are not allowed to possess or use it because alcohol is the main ingredient.

Health officials from all over the world have said older people and those with pre-existing medical conditions are most at risk of becoming severely ill from the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). According to statistics from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, about 20 percent of all inmates are older than 50. The lack of proper medical resources and materials coupled with their advanced age, means older inmates are particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus.

Asiya Haouchine

is an Algerian-American writer who graduated from the University of Connecticut in May 2016, earning a BA in journalism and English. She was an editorial intern and contributing writer for Warscapes magazine and the online/blog editor for Long River Review. She is currently studying for her Master’s in Library and Information Science. @AsiyaHaou

President Duterte Calls to Revive the Death Penalty

The president of the Philippines, Rodrigo Duterte, requested to revive the death penalty a few days ago, solely for drug-related crimes.

HIgh level drug offenders could go from prison to the death penalty, if Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte’s call to revive it is sucessful. Jody Davis. CC0.

Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte asked Congress to revive the death penalty for drug-related crimes on July 22, during his State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Speaking before a joint session of Congress, he first brought up the revival as the first priority legislative measure in his fourth Address, according to Rappler. His party, PDP-Laban, currently has a supermajority in the House of Representatives. He mentioned the 5-month siege that evolved between the state and extremists after terrorists held onto drugs in Marawi in May 2017, citing it as a prime example as to why further action and harsher actions were and are necessary.

Duterte’s war on drugs has been ongoing since his candidacy in 2016. He has been calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty for the same length of time. He also requested capital punishment in his 2017 SONA.

Senator Ronald dela Rosa, a trusted aide to the president, won his senatorial election in 2019 on a single promise: to bring back the death penalty for drug-related crimes.

Duterte also effectively began a war on corruption in Filipino society. On July 19, three dozen of Duterte’s critics were charged with sedition and cyber libel after a series of anonymous videos that accuse the president and his family of having monetary links to the illegal drug trade, according to Newsweek. 

Amnesty International believes the call will only increase the country’s environment of exemption from punishment during the continuous war on drugs.

However, Senate President Vicente Sotto III believes that restricting the reinstatemnt of capital punishment to high-level offenders would be more likely to pass in the Senate. He also mentioned this bill would be among the first to be discussed. Two years ago, the House of Representatives passed a measure for the death penalty for crimes related to drugs.

“The state of our nation is a state of mourning. We should not be burying our children amid deadly and ill-conceived police raids,” said Butch Olano, Section Director for Amnesty International Philippines, according to Amnesty International.

There has been one conviction of police officers, for the killing of a 17-year-old boy. During a police operation in late June 2019, a three-year-old girl and a police officer were killed. The girl’s mother and the government both have different stories about the operation. Overall, so far the Philippine government has noted at least 6,000 killings at the hands of police officers. Amnesty International has found that there are many more unlawful killings, likely done by armed people with ties to the police.

Olano says that, despite being told to file cases before the courts if they feel there has been an unlawful death or that the police have acted illegally, many families are too afraid to speak up. There are also the problems of costs or being unable to secure evidence or the police reports.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is meant to deliver a report in June 2020 on the state of human rights in the Philippines. President Duterte’s remarks didn’t commit to assisting with this report, which was requested last month in a resolution by the UN Human Rights Council, particularly since Duterte has been accused of human rights abuses. 

Duterte has been battling against drugs since before he was elected in 2016. Requesting the revival of the death penalty for drug-related crimes may be extreme, but it isn’t terribly unexpected from this president. If this request passes, Duterte’s war on society’s corruption will most likely increase, as he will have already have gained one victory. Amnesty International’s prediction also seems likely of coming true. However, if this request isn’t passed, it’ll be a blow to Duterte’s war on drugs. The war itself will continue, but this particular battle won’t. The human rights report will be written throughout this year and next, regardless of what happens with the death penalty. President Duterte is already under investigation, though the Philippines will become an even more dangerous place if the death penalty is passed in any form.

NOEMI ARELLANO-SUMMER is a journalist and writer living in Boston, MA. She is a voracious reader and has a fondness for history and art. She is currently at work on her first novel and wants to eventually take a trip across Europe.

AFGHANISTAN: No Burqas Behind Bars

In this upcoming, feature-length documentary by Nima Sarvestani, the viewer is taken inside one of the world's most restricted environments: an Afghan women's prison. Through the prisoners' stories we explore how "moral crimes" are used to control women in post-Taliban Afghanistan. And no — full burqas are not allowed inside the prison gates!