A well-known human rights activist, Samar relentlessly defended her husband, human rights lawyer Waleed Abu Al Khair and her brother, the blogger Raif Badawi sentenced to 1,000 lashes in 2014. She was herself the victim of past reprisals, such as a 2014 travel ban issued against her after her participation in the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva.
"This arrest shows that the Saudi authorities are not willing to improve the situation of rights and freedoms in the country and especially for human rights defenders," said Radidja Nemar, Regional Legal Officer for the Gulf at Alkarama.
Concerned over the continued harassment of Samar and other human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, Alkarama seized the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders (SR HRD), asking him to call upon the Saudi authorities to stop harassment and end all criminal proceeding against Samar, as well as to put an end to the repression of human rights defenders in the country.
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