Washington judge says activist needn’t identify critics of Saudi official

A judge in Washington decided not to sentence a woman to jail or to levy a $500 fine for each day she refuses to release names of Saudi Arabian women who made negative comments on a Facebook page about a Saudi assemblywoman.

Samia El-Moslimany, a women’s activist who lives in Burien, Washington, and Saudi Arabia, was ordered in Massachusetts and King County to reveal names of Saudi women who commented on Hayat Sindi, a female assemblywomen.

Last year, El-Moslimany offered copies of the comments with names redacted, because she feared it could leave the women vulnerable to Saudi defamation charges punishable by jail and lashing.