It was a tough weekend for Team Abu Dhabi, with Alberto Comparato finishing 14th
sports1 hour ago
Instead, rather than making the date of October 26 a symbolic one, they have called for an open-ended campaign. “Out of caution and respect for the interior ministry’s warnings... we are asking women not to drive tomorrow and to change the initiative from an October 26 campaign to an open driving campaign,” activist Najla Al Hariri said on Friday.
Several women said they had received telephone calls from the ministry, which openly warned on Thursday of measures against campaigners who chose to participate, asking them to promise not to drive on Saturday.
Saudi campaigners on the backfoot after the interior ministry warned of stern action. — AFP file
Ministry spokesman General Mansur Al Turki said: “It is known that women in Saudi are banned from driving and laws will be applied against violators and those who demonstrate in support” of this cause. On Wednesday, the ministry said it would crack down against anyone who attempts to “disturb public peace” by congregating or marching “under the pretext of an alleged day of female driving.”
In remarks to the Al Hayat daily published on Friday, Turki even warned against supporting the campaign online. When asked what would happen to those who did, Turki said legal measures will be taken “against whoever violates the anti-cyber crimes law,” an offence punishable by up to five years in prison in the kingdom.
Campaigners have repeatedly insisted throughout their campaign that no demonstrations would be held in the kingdom, which that officially bans public gatherings. A campaign website, where an online petition amassed more than 16,000 signatures before authorities blocked it two weeks later, was hacked on Friday. — AFP
“Drop the leadership of Saudi women,” read a cryptic message in English posted on the website, http://www.oct26driving.com.
Referring to Saturday, blogger Eman Nafjan said “the date was only symbolic, and women have begun driving before and will continue to drive after October 26.”
Over the past two weeks, videos posted online have shown women already driving in Saudi Arabia.
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