Key Points
- Ms al-Shehab comes from the Shia Muslim minority, who have long-faced discrimination in Saudi Arabia
- She was detained while on vacation in Saudi Arabia days before she had planned to return to her residence in the UK
A Saudi terrorism court has sentenced a women’s rights activist and academic to 34 years in prison, followed by a 34-year travel ban due to tweets she posted calling for basic rights in the country.
The ruling against Salma al-Shehab, 34, is the longest prison sentence given to a Saudi women’s rights defender, marking an escalation in Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s (MBS) crackdown on dissent.
In January 2021, the mother of two young boys, aged four and six, was detained while on vacation in Saudi Arabia days before she had planned to return to her residence in the United Kingdom, where she was a PhD candidate at the University of Leeds.
Ms al-Shehab comes from the Shia Muslim minority, who have long-faced discrimination in Saudi Arabia.
"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," Dr Bethany Al-Haidari, the Saudi case manager at the said.
"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. 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."
The ruling for Ms al-Shehab’s sentence cited her social media account, where she was supportive of women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul and called for her freedom.
It is believed that Ms al-Shehab - whose Twitter account is @I_Salma1988 - was arrested for retweeting a post by Lina Alhathloul, the sister of Loujain.
The 1 January 2021 tweet in Arabic by Lina read: “Freedom for Loujain Al-Hathloul ... Freedom for all prisoners of conscience. Your freedom is my first wish for this New Year - Happy New Year.”
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (third from right) has continued to crack down on dissent. Source: AFP / MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images
Ms Al-Hathloul, who remains held in Saudi Arabia under a travel ban, was released from jail just weeks after Ms al-Shehab’s detention.
“It is ironic,” Ms Al-Haidari adds, “that while Loujain’s release was celebrated, Salma remained behind bars on the ground that she called 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.”
Ms Al-Haidari is calling on the international community to raise her case and continue to press Saudi Arabia for true reform on women’s rights.
Ana Gomes who is a Portuguese former diplomat and served as a member of the European Parliament from 2004 until 2019, took to Twitter to voice her outrage at Ms al-Shehab’s arrest and sentence.
She tweeted: “Free Salma Al Shehab! Free #SaudiArabia. You ridiculous totalitarian MBS.”
A #FreeSalma hashtag has been created on Twitter by activists.
Ms al-Shehab’s arrest and sentence is the latest instance in which Saudi Arabia's crown prince has targeted Twitter users as part of his repression campaign, while at the same time controlling a major indirect stake in the social media company through the Public Investment Fund (PIF) - Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
