A Leeds University student jailed in Saudi Arabia for allegedly spreading “false rumours” and retweeting dissident posts is being used to “set an example” and must be “immediately released”, Amnesty International has said.
Salma al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in prison in a ruling on Monday under the kingdom’s anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws, which the organization called a “cruel and unlawful” punishment.
Activists and lawyers view the mother-of-two and activist’s sentencing as shocking, even by Saudi standards of justice, and the ruling has drawn growing global condemnation.
Amnesty denounced this “scandalous” decision and called for his “unconditional” release.
The 34-year-old Saudi woman, married with two sons aged six and four, was initially given a shorter sentence for using the internet to “cause public disorder and destabilize civil and national security”.
However, this was increased after an appeals court was asked to consider other alleged crimes.
“Salma al-Shehab should never have been convicted, but seeing her sentence increased from six to 34 years following an unfair trial shows that the authorities intend to use her to set an example in the middle their relentless crackdown on freedom of expression,” said Amnesty’s Diana Semaan.
“She must be released immediately and unconditionally. The Saudi authorities must allow her to reunite with her family and continue her studies in the UK,” she added.
“Saudi Arabia must end its relentless crackdown on women’s rights activists and anyone else who dares to speak out.”
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) has previously described Ms al-Shehab’s sentence as establishing a “dangerous precedent for activists and human rights defenders”.
Ms al-Shehab, who was also banned from traveling for 34 years, was arrested in January 2021 while on holiday in Saudi Arabiahaving been targeted by authorities for using Twitter to follow, write about and support Saudi women’s rights activists, including Loujain al-Hathloul.
Read more: University of Leeds ‘deeply concerned’ over student sentenced to 34 years in prison
The doctoral student was held in prolonged solitary confinement for 285 days before being brought to justice, which violates international standards and Saudi criminal procedure law, according to Amnesty.
She was also denied access to a lawyer throughout her pre-trial detention, including during interrogations, the organization said.
Ms Al-Hathloul was jailed for ‘espionage with foreign parties’ and ‘conspiracy against the kingdom’, but was conditionally released in 2021.
The sentencing of Ms al-Shehab, which has so far not been recognized by the kingdom, comes amid Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s crackdown on dissent, even as his regime granted women the right to driving and other new freedoms in the ultra-conservative Islamic nation.
Since coming to power in 2017, Prince Mohammed has been criticized for his arrests of those who do not comply, including dissidents and activists, but also princes and businessmen.
