It appeared that the particularly harsh sentence was handed down because of the charges of resisting arrest, news websites in the kingdom reported on Friday.

There has been no official confirmation of the verdict and the woman's name has not been published.

There is no specific law to prevent women from driving in the kingdom, however, women simply cannot apply for driving licenses and some have been arrested for driving.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world where women are prohibited from driving. The medieval ban is imposed on the nation's female citizens based on an edict issued by regime's officially-sanctioned Wahhabi clerics.

Wahhabism is a radical and deviant interpretation of Islam and entirely rejected by an overwhelming majority of Muslims across the globe.

If women get behind the wheel in the US-backed kingdom, they could be arrested, sent to court and even flogged.

In 2011, dozens of Saudi women took part in a campaign, dubbed Women2Drive, challenging the ban. They posted on social networks several pictures and videos of themselves while driving.

In 1991, authorities stopped 47 women who got behind the wheel in a demonstration against the driving ban. After being arrested, many were further punished by being banned from travel and suspended from their workplaces.

NTJ/MB