Manal Al-Sharif's detention extended by 10 days

As her five-year-old son remains hospitalized with a severe infection, imprisoned motorist Manal Al-Sharif learned she will remain behind bars for another 10 days while authorities decide her fate. Her lawyer, Adnan Al-Saleh, told Asharq Al-Awsat, a sister publication of Arab News, that the court ruled Thursday against her release as it continues to probe her drive into Alkhobar and the subsequent online posting of the event on social media websites. “We believe the best thing for the prosecutor general would have been to release her on bail,” said Al-Saleh. “They told us that the investigating authorities need another 10 days to complete their inquiries. They will then decide whether Al-Sharif is innocent or whether her case should be referred to a special prosecutor," he said, and explained that such things are in line with the legal formalities. “However, this does not and will not stop us from continuing with our efforts to get her released on bail.” He appealed to the relevant authorities to deal with Al-Sharif’s case on humanitarian grounds. “She did not commit a grave crime to merit a long detention,” he said. Despite her situation Al-Sharif earlier said she was not fearful because of her unwavering belief in Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. “She has full faith in the country’s judicial system and believes that she will get a fair trial,” Al-Saleh said. Al-Saleh refuted reports appearing in a section of the media that Al-Sharif burst into tears or that she collapsed during her detention. “That is not true,” he said. "Yes, she has already apologized for what has happened and has stated that she did not realize that her act would have such severe consequences." According to Al-Saleh, Al-Sharif has withdrawn from the June 17 campaign. Police snatched the woman from her home in a dawn raid Sunday and accused her of “violating public order” after she started a Facebook campaign urging Saudi women to get behind the wheel to protest the ban on women driving. Al-Sharif is a divorcee who is an IT expert for Saudi Aramco. Within the oil company’s sprawling Dhahran housing compound women have the liberty to drive. Her arrest has put the focus on the country’s laws governing women driving. Many experts have stated that there is nothing in the written law that says women driving is illegal, a fact that Al-Sharif’s supporters have repeatedly cited. There have been statements in the past by top leaders that indicated that it is more of a social restriction rather than a legal one. However, Deputy Minister of Interior Prince Ahmad made it very clear Wednesday night that women driving automobiles is against the law. “A statement was issued in 1990 prohibiting women from driving cars in the Kingdom. The Ministry of Interior’s task is to implement an order. It is not our job to say something is right or wrong,” the prince said at a press conference in Madinah. A 32-year-old native of Wadi Fatima between Makkah and Taif, Al-Sharif has turned attention to the issue of women driving in the Kingdom around the world, with an online Google search of her name and driving arrest yielding more that 20,000 citations. Her friends say it is not the detention that worries her — she will be more worried about losing the custody of her son. “If you have a police case against you then the courts tend to rule in favor of the other half. In view of the current case, the family courts might rule against her and grant the custody to her former husband,” said a distant friend of the family. From Emirate News