London More than 30 international human rights, press freedom and expression organizations sent a joint letter to the Saudi Arabian government this Monday (29) demanding the release of academic and women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab, who was sentenced to 34 years in prison. Tweets advocating women’s rights.
Coincidentally, the penalty is equivalent to the age of the activist, who is just 34 years old. Among the signatories are Amnesty International, Article 19, PEN International and Access Now, the latter specializing in human rights in the digital environment.
“This is the longest known prison sentence for a peaceful activist for freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia and marks an alarming worsening of the human rights situation in the country,” the letter said.
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Saudi woman sentenced to prison did not come forward
The conviction sparked anger and drew more attention to the kingdom ruled by Prince Mohammed bin Salman with an iron fist. The Saudi monarch is accused of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country’s embassy in Turkey.
But unlike the journalist who is a global media celebrity who writes for The Washington Post, Al-Shehab is a mother of two, a dental hygienist and a PhD student at the University of Leeds in the UK, where she resided before her detention. .
He was arrested while on vacation in Saudi Arabia on January 15, 2021. He was then placed in solitary confinement and lengthy interrogation sessions for nine and a half months before being taken to the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC). The organ is used as a tool of repression to silence dissent in the kingdom, the beings say.
Al-Shehab belongs to the country’s Shia Muslim minority, which has long suffered from government repression.
On August 9, 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court, highlighting the letter signed by the parties, convicted the activist after a “largely unfair” trial. The conviction states that a travel ban of the same duration should be introduced after 34 years in prison.
Charges against Al-Shehab include “supporting those who want to disrupt public order” and tweeting “disturbing public order” in connection with posts on her account in which Loujain al expresses his support for prisoners of conscience such as a human rights activist. Hathloul women.
He also deactivated his Twitter account and deactivated his mobile number.
Also Read | Saudi woman sentenced to 34 years in prison for using Twitter, owned by her country’s government
The letter says:
“Al-Shehab was convicted under the kingdom’s brutal counter-terrorism and anti-cybercrime laws, which included vague statements that criminalized the rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Saudi Arabia.”
First, he was sentenced to six years in prison in March 2022, fourteen months after his detention. However, the sentence was increased during the appeal process, giving the kingdom the longest known prison sentence for a peaceful activist. The decision can be appealed to the Supreme Court.
Organizations have expressed concern that punishing the Saudis will be the beginning of a worsening of the persecution of dissident voices.
“We strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest and unlawful conviction of Al-Shehab, which marks a new escalation in the crackdown on freedom of expression in Saudi Arabia.
Contrary to the authorities’ rhetoric on women’s rights and human rights, including legal reform, the real drivers of reform – activists demanding fundamental rights – continue to be brutally silenced, using repressive laws to criminalize their peaceful expression. their activism.”
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“Al-Shahab’s unjust punishment comes after US President Joe Biden’s recent visit to Saudi Arabia, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron’s Paris meeting with Saudi Crown Prince and de facto monarch Mohammed bin Salman,” the manifesto said:
These high-level meetings, with no preconditions, only spur the kingdom’s leadership to commit more abuse, as Biden warned before his trip.”
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Organizations are critical of rejecting global calls to hold Saudi Arabian leaders accountable, particularly for the 2018 state-sponsored assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. Continuation of the Crown Prince government since 2017.”
According to the manifesto, Saudi Arabia arbitrarily arrests and detains people who peacefully exercise their fundamental rights, and imposes long prison sentences on peaceful critics after highly unfair trials. It also imposes a travel ban on activists after their release from prison, and the failure to provide medical and administrative assistance to inmates leads to “deliberate killings.”
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The document reports that Saudi authorities have already carried out 120 executions this year – more than double the number for all of 2021, including the execution of 81 men on 12 March 2022, the country’s largest mass execution in recent years.
“Only international pressure on Saudi officials will lead to significant progress towards full respect for human rights and freedoms in the country.
Therefore, we call on the international community, especially states with diplomatic influence such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to pressure the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Salma Al-Shehab and quash her conviction and release her. all other persons currently detained in the kingdom as a result of the peaceful exercise of their fundamental rights.”
When the verdict was announced, a spokesperson from the University of Leeds said: “We are deeply concerned to hear about this latest development in the Salma case and seek advice on whether there is anything we can do to support it.”
However, although the activist is a citizen of the country, no demonstration was held by the UK government.
Censorship actions in Saudi Arabia are also motivated by moral issues. This year, the kingdom was one of those who banned the screening of Pixair’s animated movie Buzz for containing a kissing scene between women.
In July, an Egyptian living in the country was arrested for posting a video on TikTok that allegedly had LGBT implications.
Also Read | Saudi Arabia arrests Egyptian TikToker for ‘immoral’ video allegedly implying LGBT
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source: Noticias
