(The Wall Street Journal) – Authorities in Saudi Arabia have detained two women’s rights activists, human-rights groups said Wednesday, broadening a campaign of arrests that has drawn international criticism and tainted the kingdom’s top-down reforms agenda.
Those rounded up in recent days include Samar Badawi, who is known for having challenged the kingdom’s male guardianship rules and is the sister of one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent detainees, liberal blogger Raif Badawi. Ms. Badawi, who was detained Monday in her hometown of Jeddah, had also campaigned for her brother’s release.
She is one of at least 18 civil-rights activists arrested since May, four of whom have been temporarily released, activists say. Many others are banned from traveling outside the kingdom. None of them is known to have been formally charged.
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