Loujain al-Hathloul

Early life and education She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia.

Women's rights activism (2014–2017) Al-Hathloul is known both for her role in the Women to Drive Movement and in opposing the Saudi male guardianship system. Al-Hathloul attempted to stand in Saudi local elections in December 2015, the first vote in Saudi Arabia to include women, but was barred.

In September 2016, along with 14,000 others, al-Hathloul signed a petition to King Salman asking for the male guardianship system to be abolished.

She was targeted in 2017 by a team of U.S. mercenaries who surveilled dissidents on behalf of the United Arab Emirates under a secret program called Project Raven, which categorized her as a “national security threat” and hacked into her iPhone.

2018–2020 kidnapping and torture

Loujain Al-Hathloul was kidnapped from the UAE in March 2018 and deported to Saudi Arabia, where she was arrested for a few days and then put under a travel ban. Al-Hathloul was detained again on the eve of 15 May 2018, along with Eman al-Nafjan, Aisha al-Mana, Aziza al-Yousef, Madeha al-Ajroush and some men Human Rights Watch interpreted the purpose of the arrests as frightening "anyone expressing skepticism about the crown prince's rights agenda".

On 1 March 2019, the office of Saudi Arabia's public prosecutor announced that the preliminary investigation had been completed and they would be preparing to try al-Hathloul and other activists in court for undermining state security. On 13 March 2019, the trial began, although the charges were not specified and reporters and diplomats were barred from attending. In April 2019, a hearing on her case was postponed without a reason being given.

In May 2020, her trial was indefinitely postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised concerns over her health inside the Saudi prison.

On 11 August 2020, her other sister Lina al-Hathloul (a Nobel Peace Prize-nominated campaigner), expressed fear about the possibility of the activist being tortured again in the Saudi prison, as she has not been heard from for over 60 days.

Loujain al-Hathloul had been held in incommunicado detention for three months. When she learned that other detainees were allowed to call their families, she went on a six-day hunger strike to demand the same. She was then allowed to meet her parents. Saudi Arabia has restricted many prominent human rights activists, clerics, and royal family members from contacting their family or lawyers, raising concerns over their safety and wellbeing.

On 15 September 2020, around 30 countries called on Saudi Arabia to release jailed women's rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and four other women in detention who campaigned for women to drive.

On 8 October 2020, the European Parliament called for Saudi Arabia to release all the human rights activists, particularly the campaigners for the Women to drive movement, including Loujain al-Hathloul, in a resolution passed against the Kingdom's human rights records. Highlighting the situation of these dissidents and migrants in the country's detention centers, the MEPs also urged the European Union states to cut down their representation at Saudi's G20 Summit.

At the end of October 2020, Loujain al-Hathloul started a hunger strike. According to Hathloul's sisters, Lina and Alia, who broke the news on Twitter, the activist started her hunger strike on 26 October 2020 against the al-Hair prison administration, demanding regular contact with her family and siblings. On 10 November 2020, the Saudi ambassador to the U.K. said that Saudi Arabia was considering releasing women's rights activist Loujain Al-Hatloul, ahead of its hosting of the G20 summit in November. The decision was considered after the international political pressure to release her, as she was on a weeks-long hunger strike.

On 25 November 2020, after the Riyadh G20 summit was concluded, Loujain al-Hathloul was transferred to a special court for terrorism and national security crimes. Her sister, Lina al-Hathloul, feared that Loujain was being pressured into giving false confessions, which could be used against her during the trial.

On 29 November 2020, seven European envoys released a joint statement condemning the continued detention of five women's rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul, whose case was referred to a special court for terrorism-related offences. The envoys demanded the release of Hathloul, who had been in jail since May 2018 after a sweep targeted prominent critics of the kingdom's former law barring women from driving.

On 28 December 2020, al-Hathloul was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison. On 10 February 2021, al-Hathloul's sister announced on Twitter that she had been released from prison. At the time of her release from prison, she was placed under a travel ban, which was due to expire on 12 November 2023. As of July 2025, Loujain says she is still unable to travel abroad, although Saudi officials said she was not subject to any restrictions "other than those set out in the final court judgment." The three officers had already admitted to providing the UAE with hacking services and equipment in a separate case.

Recognition She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2017.

Al-Hathloul was ranked third in the "Top 100 Most Powerful Arab Women 2015" list. In April 2021, she was announced as the winner of the 2020 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize.