Support of Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi
The City of Brussels 'adopts' Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi, 2 prisoners in Saudi Arabia. This double adoption is part of the city's participation in Amnesty International's Ville Lumières label, a network that brings together cities and municipalities that stand up for the freedoms, values and rights that are the basis of democracy. In the meantime, Loujain al-Hathloul has been released since 10 February 2021.
Through this network, a municipality can adopt one or more people at risk. At the time, the City already adopted Hamid Babaei, an Iranian student in Belgium who had been convicted in his country for "undermining national security by communicating with hostile states'. He was released in August 2019 after serving his sentence. Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi are currently in jail for defending human rights, including freedom of speech.
Campaign #freeloujain&raif
Loujain al-Hathloul, a 31-year-old Saudi activist, was in prison for more than 2 years for defending women's rights. Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger, has been jailed and abused for his views since 2012.
- Give real freedom to Loujain al-Hathloul (Amnesty, in French)
- Raif Badawi and Waleed Abu al Khair must be released (Amnesty)
The actions for these 2 prisoners are led by the Advisory Council for International Solidarity of the City of Brussels. At the end of January 2021, the billboard on the Hotel Continental (Place de Brouckère) was showing a week-long campaign to support Loujain al-Hathloul and Raif Badawi. You can also add a profile picture on Facebook to support the campaign.
