Salma al-Shebab, a student at Leeds University in the UK, who had returned to Saudi Arabia for a holiday, has been given a 34-year prison sentence for having a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissident activists.
The 34-year-old was accused of using Twitter to incite public unrest and destabilize civil and national security by posting tweets advocating for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia.
Initially, Al-Shebab was sentenced to six years in prison, but after appealing her sentence, a Saudi terrorism court increased her jail term to 34 years on Monday, August 15.
The court cited her social media activity, where she expressed support for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, called for the release of imprisoned women’s rights activists like Loujain al-Hathloul, and retweeted a post from Al-Hathloul’s sister Lina, advocating for their freedom.
Al-Shebab was arrested after retweeting a post from Al-Hathloul’s sister, and she also shared content from dissident activists living in exile.
She was accused of “providing succor to those seeking to disrupt public order and undermine the safety of the general public and stability of the state, and publishing false and tendentious rumors on Twitter.”
Al-Shebab was arrested in January 2021 while on holiday in Saudi Arabia, just days before she planned to return to the UK, where she was pursuing a PhD at the University of Leeds.
Dr Bethany Al-Haidari, the Saudi case manager at the US-based human rights organization, commented on the situation, stating that “Saudi Arabia has claimed improvements in women’s rights and legal reform to the world, but with this abhorrent sentence, it is evident that the situation is deteriorating.”
“It is unfortunately not surprising that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman feels more empowered than ever in presiding over such egregious rights violations,” she added.
“The ruling for Salma’s sentence cited her social media account, where she supported women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and called for her freedom.”
“Though Salma was initially sentenced to 6 years in the first instance court, the sentence was increased to 34 years during the appeal. This is the longest known sentence for a women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia,” Al-Haidari emphasized.
Loujain Al-Hathloul, who is still unlawfully detained in Saudi Arabia under a travel ban, was released from jail shortly after al-Shebab’s detention.
Al-Shebab had advocated for Al-Hathloul’s release from prison before her own arrest.
Al-Haidari further added, “It is ironic that while Loujain’s release was celebrated, Salma remained behind bars for advocating for that very release.”
“It’s a pattern for Saudi authorities to ensure that women activists can’t celebrate or take credit for any of their hard-won victories.”