Saudi activist 'offered freedom if she denies torture claims' Published duration 13 August 2019

image copyright Reuters image caption Loujain al-Hathloul and several other activists are currently in jail, despite a partial overturn of the "male guardianship" system they have fought against

A jailed Saudi women's rights activist has been offered release if she agrees to say she was not tortured, her sister has alleged.

Loujain al-Hathloul, who campaigned to win Saudi women the right to drive, was detained this year for conspiring with "hostile entities".

Her family says she has been tortured and sexually assaulted in custody, which the Saudi government denies.

Officials have so far not responded to BBC questions about the new claims.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Loujain al-Hathloul's sister Lina - who is based in Brussels - first revealed details of the supposed deal.

Ms Hathloul has became one of the faces of women's rights campaigning in the kingdom.

In 2014, she rose to social media fame after live-tweeting her attempt to drive across the Saudi-UAE border.

She has also campaigned against the system of "male guardianship", which gives authority to a woman's father, brother, husband or son to make critical decisions on her behalf.

image copyright Getty Images image caption Lina Al Hathloul is campaigning to free her sister, Loujain

The system was partially dismantled this month , but Ms Hathloul and several others are still being held in prison under Saudi cyber-crime laws.

media caption Saudi women hit the road

Demands for the women's release have come from around the world, including the UN.

Scrutiny of human rights in the kingdom has also intensified since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at Saudi Arabia's Istanbul consulate last year.

But Saudi officials have accused critics of interfering in the Gulf kingdom's domestic affairs "under the guise of defending human rights".