A Saudi court sentenced a student to 34 years in prison for “providing aid” through her tweets to political opponents seeking to “disturb public order”, according to a court document seen by AFP on Wednesday.
The London-based human rights organization ALQST denounced in a statement “the longest prison sentence ever imposed by the Saudi authorities on a peaceful activist” in a context of “already excessively harsh repression”.
A doctoral student in England
An appeals court sentenced Salma al-Chehab to 34 years in prison, in addition to being banned from leaving her country for a similar period after her release, according to a sentence issued on August 9 and of which AFP was able to see a copy. on Wednesday.
This mother of two children was found guilty of “providing assistance to those seeking to disturb public order and spread false and malicious information”, by “writing and posting tweets” on her personal account.
A doctoral student in dentistry at the University of Leeds in England, Salma Al-Chehab was arrested in January 2021 while on vacation in Saudi Arabia.
In June 2022, a court had sentenced her in the first instance to six years in prison, three of which were suspended, a sentence increased considerably a few days ago. The judgment on appeal can be challenged within 30 days before the Supreme Court.
About 2600 subscribers on the social network
With around 2,600 followers on Twitter, Salma Al-Chehab, 34, regularly posted pro-women’s rights messages in the ultra-conservative kingdom.
She “didn’t think her activity on Twitter could cause her any problems,” a friend of the young woman, who requested anonymity, told AFP. “We were surprised by her arrest.”
Under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has given new rights to women, such as driving or traveling alone. However, NGOs regularly single out the kingdom for serious human rights violations, including its crackdown on political dissidents and feminist activists.
Source: BFM TV
