Samar Badawi, a prominent Saudi Arabian activist, has reportedly been arrested, according to family members and activist groups.
Badawi is the wife of a prominent jailed activist and lawyer, Waleed Abu al-Khair, and the sister of the jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi. Samar Badawi's sister-in-law Ensaf Haidar, the wife of Raif Badawi, took to Twitter to announce the arrest.
In a text message to the New York Times, Maj. Gen. Mansour Turki, a spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, denied the arrest and said that Badawi was only being questioned at a police station at the request of a prosecutor.
Local activists and international rights groups have been quick to rally behind Badawi, criticizing the kingdom's human rights record.
"Samar Badawi’s arrest today is yet another alarming setback for human rights in Saudi Arabia and demonstrates the extreme lengths to which the authorities are prepared to go in their relentless campaign to harass and intimidate human rights defenders into silent submission," Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Program for Amnesty International said in a statement .
According to Amnesty International, Badawi and her 2-year-old daughter were picked-up by police in Jeddah on Jan. 12 and were taken to a police station. The organization's statement says that she was questioned for four hours before being moved to Dhaban prison. She is believed to have been arrested for managing the Twitter account of her imprisoned husband.
Badawi was previously barred from traveling outside of the kingdom in 2014 and her husband is currently serving a 15-year sentence for his activist activities. Badawi's brother, a prominent activist blogger, made international headlines in 2014 when he was sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for insulting Islam. His sentence was partially carried out in January of last year when he received 50 lashes, however further lashes have been postponed.
The U.S. State Department recognized Badawi in 2012 with an International Woman of Courage Award. According to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Badawi was the first woman in the kingdom to sue for the right to marry the man of her choice and also to sue the government for the right to vote.