John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is not the first time we have looked at the case of this young woman or women human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia in general. There is a growing body of opinion that the loss of international prestige is too high a price for Saudi Arabia to pay and many want this crackdown to end. There needs to be more focus. This particular case is horrific, as has been outlined. Ms al-Halthloul has been beaten, tortured and sexually assaulted and her crime, if any, was speaking out for women's rights and applying for a job in the UN. Women such as Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Sadah and Loujain herself are being subjected to torture, including flogging, electric shocks, sexual abuse and solitary confinement, on a daily basis. They cannot afford to wait for the niceties of international diplomacy to be observed by countries such as Ireland, the UN or the EU. It is time to act and put serious pressure on Saudi Arabia to defend these human rights defenders.

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