Saudi Arabia has toughened its crackdown on women expressing dissent on social media. Photo: AFP
Saudi Arabia sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for publications on the networks, the latest evidence that the monarchy has decided to tighten its positions against women who, even indirectly, support dissidence on social networks.
The sentence for Nourah al-Qahtanise comes just weeks after Riyadh sentenced Salma al-Shehab, a 34-year-old mother of two, to 34 years in prison simply for retweeting the messages of some dissidents.
Both sentences were pronounced on appeal.
It is still unclear what content al-Qahtani posted on the Internet. She was arrested on July 4, 2021, according to Democracy for the Arab world now (Democracy for the Arab World Now, Dawn), a Washington-based human rights group critical of Riyadh.
However, she received a harsh sentence on appeal after being found guilty of “using the Internet to tear apart the social fabric of the country“- according to the court document released by Dawn – and” violation of public order “through social networks, under the kingdom’s anti-terrorism and cybercrime law.
“A few weeks after Salma al-Shehab’s shocking 34-year sentence this month, Nourah al-Qahtani’s 45-year sentence shows how empowered Saudi authorities feel to punish even the slightest criticism of its citizens, “said Abdullah Alaoudh, a member of Dawn.
The organization was founded by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered and dismembered in the Saudi embassy in Istanbul for his positions against the regime.
Not much is known about Nourah al-Qahtani, and does not appear to have an active Twitter account right now. It appears to come from one of the largest tribes in Saudi Arabia and has no apparent history of activism.
A woman sentenced to 34 years in prison
The other convicted woman, Salma al-Shehab, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for opening a Twitter profile and retweet messages from dissidents and activists.
Salma was doing a PhD at the University of Leeds in the UK and was arrested while on holiday in her country.
The woman was initially sentenced to three years in prison for the “crime” of using an Internet site to “provoke public unrest and destabilize civil and national security”.
However, a court of appeal subsequently issued a new 34-year prison sentence and a travel ban after the prosecutor asked the court to consider other alleged crimes.
US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia in July, with the aim of reshaping relations and balances in the Gulf, also in light of the Ukrainian crisis and the energy emergency, was seen by Saudi activists as a encouragement to step up repression against dissidents and other pro-democracy activists
Source: ANSA and AP
Source: Clarin
