Saudi activist who campaigned for women’s right to drive is sentenced to nearly six years

A court in Saudi Arabia on Monday sentenced Loujain al-Hathloul, one of the country's most prominent women's rights advocates, to a prison term of five years and eight months after convicting her on terrorism-related charges, her family said in a statement.

Human rights groups said the charges were based solely on Hathloul’s activism: her contacts with journalists, diplomats and other human rights advocates, as well as her calls to end a system of male “guardianship” in the kingdom, according to the indictment.