Consider it a small step for freedom: Loujain al-Hathloul, one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent political activists, walked out of prison Wednesday after 1,001 days behind bars for seeking to change the country’s political system and supposedly endangering national security.
Her real crime, however, was fighting for women’s rights in the kingdom, notably calling for an end to the ban on women driving — which indeed was lifted in 2018, the very year of her arrest and sentencing to six years.
Some see this as a Saudi nod to President Biden, who vowed on the campaign trail to reassess the US relationship with the “pariah” Saudi regime. At the least, the prez greeted the release of the “prominent human-rights activist” as “the right thing to do.”
Let’s hope Biden can get Saudi Arabia to keep doing the right thing. The kingdom has lots of other voices for freedom it can spring from prison.