Salma al-Shehab has been sentenced to 34 years in prison, the longest known sentence given to a women’s rights defender in Saudi Arabia.
al-Shehab was initially sentenced to six years for having a Twitter account and posting about women’s rights and calling for freedom. In 2021, she was initially sentenced to six years in prison, but an appeals court has now increased it to 34 years, followed by a 34-year travel ban.
al-Shehab is a PhD student at Leeds University in the UK and a mother of two young children. She was first detained in January 2021 while on holiday in Saudi Arabia, just days before she planned to return to the UK where she resided.
The new sentencing comes weeks after US President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia, where he met with the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and was pictured giving him a fist bump. Human rights activists warned Biden’s visit could bolster the kingdom to escalate its attacks on Saudi dissidents and activists.
“Saudi Arabia has boasted to the world that they are improving women’s rights and creating legal reform, but there is no question with this abhorrent sentence that the situation is only getting worse,” said Dr. Bethany Al-Haidari, the Saudi case manager at the Freedom Initiative.
“It is unfortunately no surprise that MbS feels more empowered than ever in presiding over such egregious rights violations. Without any real steps toward accountability, Biden’s trip to Jeddah and the international community’s embrace must feel like a green light.
“The Saudi authorities must release Salma and ensure that her young boys do not grow up without a mother simply because she called for freedom for human rights activists.”
Independent human rights organisation ALQST said it is “gravely concerned” over al-Shehab’s arrest and the “extraordinary length of her prison term”.
ALQST’s Head of Monitoring and Communications Lina Alhathloul said: “This appalling sentence makes a mockery of the Saudi authorities’ claims of reform for women and of the legal system, and shows that they remain hellbent on harshly punishing anyone who expresses their opinions freely.”
“Saudi activists warned Western leaders that giving legitimacy to the crown prince would pave the way for more abuses, which is unfortunately what we are witnessing now.”