UN report calls on Saudi Arabia to release 2 women jailed over tweets, alleging rights abuses

By The Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.N. human rights experts are calling for the release of two Saudi Arabian women they say were arbitrarily detained and denied basic rights after tweeting criticism of the kingdom’s policies. One of the women was sentenced to 34 years in prison and the other to 45 years in separate cases last summer. In a report published Friday, experts tasked by the U.N. Human Rights Council say the women’s arrests, treatment and long sentences “indicate that they were discriminated against for their human rights activism.” The kingdom’s human rights record has come under heightened scrutiny in recent months as it has made major inroads into international sports.