Video: Saudi man torches woman's car to deter her from driving

A Saudi man has burnt a female relative's car in a bid to deter her from driving in the latest attack targeting women drivers after the decades-long ban was lifted last year.

The arson attack took place in the Western city of Taif, according to Saudi news website Al-Arabiya, which published a video of the man dowsing gasoline over the car and setting it ablaze.

"I had just bought the car and I have a driver's licence," the victim named in the report as Amira told the outlet.

She denied rumours that her brother had been the perpetrator, clarifying that it was her relative and demanding the authorities punish him to "act as a deterrent to others in the future".

Footage of the incident has been widely shared on social media, prompting Saudi prosecutors to order the arrest of the man behind the incident.

The attack is the latest in a string of harassment incidents targeting women drivers following a royal decree last year to end the controversial ban on women driving.

Despite the end of the ban, conservatives still believe that women should not be allowed to get behind the wheel.

Last July, arsonists torched another woman's car in the holy city of Mecca.

A man was also arrested last September for allegedly threatening to attack women drivers.

Eleven women activists, some of whom had campaigned for the right for women to drive, are currently facing trial in the kingdom on charges that include contact with foreign media, diplomats and human rights groups.

Some of the activists have accused interrogators of sexual abuse and torture during nearly a year in custody.