Saudi mom gets 34-year sentence for Twitter posts backing women’s rights activist
A Saudi academic was sentenced to 34 years in prison last week for advocating for women’s rights on Twitter.
Salma al-Shehab, 34, a doctoral candidate at the University of Leeds in the UK, was visiting her husband and two young sons when she was detained by the government in January 2021.
Shehab, who boasts a mere 2,597 followers on Twitter, had used the platform to protest the imprisonment of Loujain al-Hathloul, an activist who campaigned for Saudi women’s right to drive and was subsequently incarcerated and tortured.
Saudi authorities cited her advocacy and other tweets as evidence of Shehab using social media to “cause public unrest and destabilize civil and national security,” and initially sentenced her to six years behind bars.
In her appeal, Shehab argued that her small following did not pose a security risk; in addition to using her real name on the platform, she frequently used it to share photos of her children and other innocuous content. Prosecutors retaliated by demanding that the former dental hygienist and university lecturer be charged under the kingdom’s counterterrorism laws, in addition to the cybercrime statute.
On Aug. 8, the terrorism court handed down the 34-year sentence, to be followed by a 34-year travel ban. According to the Freedom Initiative, a nonprofit that advocates for prisoners in the Middle East and North Africa, it is the longest known sentence for a women’s rights activist in Saudi Arabia.
Shehab’s draconian punishment comes just weeks after President Biden’s trip to Saudi Arabia, during which he fist-bumped with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The controversial young royal, who controls a major indirect stake in Twitter through the Public Investment Firm (PIF), is no stranger to using extreme force to silence dissenting voices. Just four years ago, he allegedly ordered the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Khalic Aljabri, an exiled Saudi, told the Guardian that the Shehab case is merely the latest example of “MBS’s ruthless repression machine.”
“Just like Khashoggi’s assassination, her sentencing is intended to send shock waves inside and outside the kingdom,” he said. “Dare to criticize MBS and you will end up dismembered or in Saudi dungeons.”
Aljabri’s statement echoed a Washington Post editorial published Tuesday, which cited Shehab’s sentence as evidence that the crown prince’s lukewarm commitments to human rights during Biden’s visit were a “farce.”
“At the very least, Mr. Biden must … demand that Ms. Shehab be released,” the editorial board wrote.
Although Shehab may be able to file an additional appeal, there are serious concerns about her safety in prison. A source close to the case told the Guardian that Shehab was frequently held in solitary confinement, and her request to speak to the judge about her treatment was denied.
According to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, female activists in Saudi Arabia are frequently the victims of arbitrary sentences, as well as torture and sexual harassment.
Loujain al-Hathloul, whose imprisonment Shehab protested, was released from jail just a few weeks after Shehab’s arrest. She remains in Saudi Arabia under a travel ban.
Dr. Bethany Al-Haidari, a case manager with the Freedom Initiative, noted that “while Loujain’s released was celebrated, Salma remained behind bars on the ground that she called for that very release.”
“The Saudi authorities must release Salma,” she said in a statement. “And ensure that her young boys do not grow up without a mother simply because she called for freedom for human rights activists.”
