A Saudi Arabian woman drives a car as part of a campaign to defy Saudi Arabia's ban on women driving, in Riyadh (AP)
Dubai:
Human Rights Watch says a Saudi schoolteacher who supported ending his country's ban on women driving has been detained.
The New York-based organization said Tuesday, citing activists, that Tariq al-Mubarak was summoned by police investigators on Sunday and taken into custody.
In a column published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat the day of his arrest, al-Mubarak says extremists are intimidating people from exercising their rights. He says freedoms "are not instilled in our culture, nor our interpretation of religion."
Over 60 women claimed to have gotten behind the wheel Saturday to oppose the ban. The campaign sparked protest by the kingdom's ultraconservative religious establishment.
The New York-based organization said Tuesday, citing activists, that Tariq al-Mubarak was summoned by police investigators on Sunday and taken into custody.
In a column published in the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat the day of his arrest, al-Mubarak says extremists are intimidating people from exercising their rights. He says freedoms "are not instilled in our culture, nor our interpretation of religion."
Over 60 women claimed to have gotten behind the wheel Saturday to oppose the ban. The campaign sparked protest by the kingdom's ultraconservative religious establishment.
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