DUBAI—Human rights groups and activists say one of Saudi Arabia’s most prominent human rights advocates has been arrested.

Samar Badawi is the sister of Raif Badawi, a prominent blogger with ties to Canada who was lashed 50 times last year and is serving a 10-year prison sentence for insulting the kingdom’s influential religious establishment.

She is also the wife of human rights lawyer Waleed Abulkhair, who is serving a 15-year prison sentence on charges related to his work, which included defending Raif Badawi.

Badawai is not a Canadian citizen, but his wife and children live in Quebec. In December, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met his Saudi counterpart to argue for clemency, The Canadian Press reported.

Amnesty International and the Center for Inquiry say the arrest on Tuesday of Samar Badawi is believed to be linked to her alleged role in managing a Twitter account campaigning for the release of her husband.

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