On Thursday, February 16, AGSIW Visiting Scholar Hala Aldosari testified in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Transnational Crime, Civilian Security, Democracy, Human Rights, and Global Women’s Issues at the hearing “Democracy and Human Rights: The Case for U.S. Leadership.” In her testimony, Aldosari stated:
Activists and concerned citizens [in Saudi Arabia] struggle to provide a legal basis for their advocacy in the current legal system. It is not uncommon to find irrelevant historical Islamic incidents or quotations, taken out of context, in the statements of the prosecution or the decisions of the judges to justify irrational punishments against critics or activists.
Read full testimony
Watch hearing video