By Randa Darwish
Twitter suspended the account of Saudi father of activist Loujain Hathloul after he tweeted about the sexual harassment and torture his daughter faced in prison.
Hathloul Al Hathloul (@HathloulH) tweeted this weekend confirming his daughter was sexually harassed in prison, tortured and threatened with rape inside the Saudi government prison where she is kept.
However, his tweet disappeared shortly after with his account suspended by Twitter.
Some reports even suggest he was detained by the Saudi authorities.
Al Hathloul’s account suspension was predictable by the Saudi authorities as his tweet came after months of denial by the Saudi government of reports of harassment and torture of the detained activists.
Hence, a massive social media solidarity campaign was prompted by the suspension of Loujain’s father account. It is suggested that the account was blocked after two days of tweeting.
Earlier last month, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International released reports on the horrifying details of torture the Saudi detainee activists were under. Some said they have been were subjected to electric shocks and whipping that left some of them unable to walk or stand properly.
In May 2018, Saudi authorities and human rights advocates confirmed that more than seven women rights activists with supporters, including Saudi blogger, Eman al-Nafjan, and Lujain al-Hathloul, were detained in Saudi Arabia. The step raised concern over the reasons behind the arrest and the recent reforms made in the Kingdom by controversial Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Bin Salman.
This story brings back accusations surrounding social media platforms of being controlled by some governments. The latest was accusing the regional headquarters of Twitter in Dubai of having spies who work in favour of the Saudi and Emirati governments.
Read More: Twitter’s Dubai HQ ِAccused of Being Infiltrated by Saudi Agents
For more news on detained Saudi activists follow Al Bawaba Node onTwitter: @_thenode
