Saudi Arabia sentenced a woman to 34 years in prison for tweeting messages that “disturb public order”

A Saudi Arabian court sentenced a woman to 34 years in prison for “helping” with her tweets political opponents seeking to “disturb public order”according to a court document that the AFP was able to consult this Wednesday.

This is the longest prison sentence ever issued by the Saudi authorities against a peaceful activist “in a context of” excessively harsh repression “, denounced the London-based human rights organization ALQST.

Salma Al-Chehab, mother of a family, was convicted of “helping those who try to disturb public order and spreading false and malicious information (…) with her tweets”.

This doctoral student in dentistry at the University of Leeds (England) was arrested in January 2021, during a vacation in Saudi Arabia.

The woman, who has around 2,600 Twitter subscribers, has regularly posted pro-women’s rights messages in the ultra-conservative realm.

“He didn’t think his Twitter activity would cause him any problems,” a friend of the woman, who requested anonymity, told AFP. “We were surprised by his arrest“, He added.

The University of Leeds has expressed deep concern over the arrest of one of its students and has hoped for his early release.

“We are deeply concerned about learning about these recent developments in Salma’s case and are asking for advice if there is anything we can do to support her,” a university spokesperson said.

At the urging of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia has granted women more rights.

Today, Saudi women can attend concerts or sports competitions with men, drive cars and travel. without the permission of a male relative.

who is the condemned woman

Shehab is a member of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite minority, which is ruled by Sunni Muslims, and describes herself on her Instagram account as a dental hygienist and medical educator.

Course the last year of his doctoral studies at the University of Leeds School of Medicine and teaches at Princess Nourah University in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

Your Twitter account not updated as of January 12, 2021three days before she was arrested in Riyadh.

At the end of the previous month, he tweeted or retweeted several messages calling for reforms in Saudi Arabia and the release of prominent activists, clerics and other intellectuals.

American Human Rights Group The House of Liberty and the Alqst group reported that Shehab he initially received a six-year prison sentence after being convicted of violating the country’s anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws late last year.

On August 9, an appeals court increased his sentence to 34 years and added a 34-year foreign travel ban that would begin after his release, according to the AFP.

Bethany Al-Haidari, Saudi case manager of the NGO Freedom Initiative, called the sentence “repugnant”.

“Saudi Arabia brags to the world that it is improving women’s rights and implementing legal reforms. But with this ruling there is no doubt that the situation is getting worse,” the BBC said.

Source: AFP and Télam