RIYADH - A Saudi court resumed on Wednesday the trial of prominent women activists facing charges related to their human rights work and contacts with foreign journalists and diplomats, in a case that has sharpened Western criticism of the kingdom.
Three dozen countries, including all 28 EU members, Canada and Australia, have called on Riyadh to free the activists. It remains to be seen if Riyadh will bend to international pressure - with the women possibly receiving acquittals or pardons - or pursue harsh sentences in a case critics say has revealed the limits of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's promises to modernise Saudi Arabia.
The crown prince has courted the West to support ambitious economic and social reforms, but his reputation was tarnished when Saudi agents killed journalist Jamal Khashoggi last October at the kingdom's Istanbul consulate, sparking an international furore. State-backed media labelled some of them as traitors and"agents of embassies", irritating Western allies.
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