Eight women (Lulowa al-Dir’i, Hila al-Husni, Lulowa al-Husni, Um ‘Abdel Rahman al ‘Awda, Zainab al-Mikhlif, Khowla al-Mikhlif, Hila Ibrahim, Tarfa Ibrahim), all relatives of political prisoners, were arrested on 2 September 2007 in Buraida in the al-Qassim region, north of the capital, Riyadh. According to reports, the women are being held incommunicado and may be at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. Amnesty International believes that they may have been detained solely for the non-violent expression of their beliefs, and if so, would consider them to be prisoners of conscience.
