TEHRAN, Apr 03 - Nearly a dozen Saudi women's rights activists, most of them imprisoned, attended their third court session on Wednesday and were told their trials will continue for at least two more weeks, people with knowledge of the cases told The Associated Press.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - While the 11 women are being tried separately, they have been present at joint court appearances and, according to people with knowledge of the cases, they appear to be facing similar charges related to their activism and rights work.
Yet on Wednesday, the court gave the women different dates for their next session.
The ALQST rights group said some verdicts could be issued April 17, when the eight women who remain imprisoned are due back for their fourth court appearance. The court is also expected to hold more bail hearings in the coming days.
Most of the women, including prominent activist Loujain al-Hathloul, have been imprisoned since May of last year.
Meanwhile, three women who were granted temporary release last week, among them Aziza al-Yousef and Eman al-Najfan, were told their next court date would take place after the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which coincides with early June. The king traditionally issues pardons after Ramadan, however they do not typically include political detainees.
Last month, some of the women were pressured into signing a request for a royal pardon, according to people with knowledge of the arrests.
The Associated Press was also told that the prosecutor presented on Wednesday a rebuttal denying the women's claims they'd been tortured during interrogations.
In the presence of their children, spouses and parents, the women had told the Riyadh criminal court last week they'd been caned on their backs and thighs, electrocuted, groped and waterboarded by masked men who did not identify themselves. The women say the abuse took place during interrogations last year in the Red Sea city of Jiddah before they were moved to Riyadh, where they are being tried.
Source: AP
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