Saudi female activist goes on hunger strike

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AA) - Saudi women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul has embarked on a hunger strike in one of the kingdom’s prisons, according to a statement Monday by her family.

Loujain's sister Lina said on her Twitter account that her parents visited Loujain recently in her prison cell.

"My parents visited Loujain today. She was on the sixth day of a hunger strike to protest against her being prevented from calling her family," Lina said.

She added that her sister's health is "deteriorating," without providing further details.

In a Twitter post in June, Prisoners of Conscience, a Saudi human rights group, demanded that Saudi authorities reveal the health status of Loujain, who has been detained for more than two years in Saudi prisons.

Saudi authorities have yet to comment on the claims of Loujain's family. However, they deny depriving prisoners of any of their rights.

On May 15, 2018, the authorities arrested a number of female human rights activists including Loujain, Samar Badawi, Nassima al-Sadah, Nouf Abdelaziz al Jerawi and Mayaa al-Zahrani.

Several international rights watchdogs have accused Saudi authorities of jailing the female activists for their activism in defending women's rights.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara