Meghan Markle’s friend has been jailed and tortured in Saudi Arabia for fighting for women’s rights, her family say. Loujain al-Hathloul is a globally respected activist who once graced Vanity Fair alongside her friend Meghan Markle.

But today, the 29-year-old languishes in a Riyadh prison cell, with her family reporting she has been subjected to electric-shock torture, and threats of rape and death in a “palace of terror”.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International believe other imprisoned rights’ activists are being subjected to similar horrific treatment. A source close to the activists told Express.co.uk: “Loujain is starting to speak more and more about the torture. She is experiencing very hard post-trauma. She is shaking and she cannot control herself sometimes. We want them to be released. But we just don’t know when they will be.”

There are calls now for Loujain to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as the battle to secure the group’s release continues.
Loujain Al-Hathloul became a hero to many around the world as she battled peacefully to win Saudi women the right to drive and pushed for gender equality.
Her campaigning won worldwide recognition and a huge social media following.

more at Express.co.uk