Hathloul will remain on probation for three years following her release, during which time she could be arrested for any perceived illegal activity, the family said in a statement in December. She will also be banned from traveling for five years, they said.
Hathloul’s release comes less than a week after the White House called on the kingdom to release political prisoners, including women’s rights activists. President Joe Biden has vowed to pressure Saudi Arabia into improving its rights record, marking a departure from former President Donald Trump’s reluctance to criticize the kingdom’s ramped up crackdown on dissent in recent years.
“We’re excited (about her release), but the fight for justice is not over yet,” Hathloul’s brother, Walid al-Hathloul, told CNN before the announcement. “We would have to work very hard to secure justice for Loujain, but we’re very delighted for this news.”
The family has urged people to refrain from saying that Hathloul has been “freed.”
“Any release that does not include an independent investigation of the charges, does not include lifting the travel ban, does not include dropping the charges, is not freedom,” said Walid al-Hathloul. “Therefore we’re far away from justice.”
The terrorism court convicted Hathloul on charges of harming national security, seeking to change the Saudi political system, and using her relations with foreign governments and rights groups to “pressure the Kingdom to change its laws and systems,” according to a charge sheet her family published earlier in December.
For much of her imprisonment, Hathloul detailed her hardships to her parents during their prison visits. Those allegations were later made public by three of her siblings who live outside the kingdom, and were corroborated by the court testimony of other female activists.
Saudi authorities have repeatedly denied allegations of torture and sexual abuse in their prisons.
Hathloul has twice gone on hunger strike — in protest at her prison conditions, and because she was denied communication with her relatives — according to her family.
Earlier this week, a Saudi appeals court rejected Hathloul’s torture claims, the family said on Twitter.
Hathloul’s siblings, who have been a driving force behind an international campaign for her release, posted a photo of their sister at home on Wednesday. “Oh mother, oh mother, this is the most beautiful day of my life. Loujain is in my family home,” tweeted Alia al-Hathloul. “We made it, siblings … we got her out.”
This story has been updated with additional information.
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