Salma al-Shehab: ‘International pressure’ needed to free student jailed for tweeting in Saudi Arabia

Human rights groups say “sustained international pressure” is needed to convince Saudi Arabian authorities to release a University of Leeds student, after she was handed a 34-year prison sentence for tweeting.
Nathan Hyde
By Nathan Hyde
Published 31st Aug 2022, 17:29 BST
Updated 31st Aug 2022, 17:32 BST

In a letter, they claim mother-of-two Salma al-Shehab was jailed for retweeting activists who campaign for women’s rights in the conservative Islamic nation and it “marks a further escalation in the crackdown on free speech”.

The letter has been signed by 35 human rights groups, including Amnesty International, Access Now, Peace Action and ACAT-France.

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Amnesty International said the 34-year-old PhD student, who was studying dental hygiene in Leeds, was arrested on a family holiday in January 2021 and faced a “grossly unfair trial”, after months of solitary confinement and intense questioning.

Salma al-Shehab speaks to a journalist at the Riyadh International Book Fair back in March 2014.Salma al-Shehab speaks to a journalist at the Riyadh International Book Fair back in March 2014.
Salma al-Shehab speaks to a journalist at the Riyadh International Book Fair back in March 2014.

According to court documents, she was found to have broken counter-terrorism and cyber crime laws, by publishing tweets which “disturb public order” and supporting people who seek to “destabilize security and the stability of the state”.

She was originally jailed for six years, but her sentence was increased to 34 years by the Kingdom’s Specialised Criminal Court in August. It will be followed by a 34-year travel ban.

In their letter, the human groups wrote: “We strongly condemn the arbitrary arrest and unlawful sentencing of al-Shehab, which marks a further escalation in the crackdown on free speech in Saudi Arabia.

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“In contrast to the authorities’ rhetoric on human rights, including women’s rights and legal reforms, the real drivers of reform – the activists calling for basic rights – continue to be ruthlessly targeted and silenced, with repressive laws being used to criminalise their peaceful expression and activism.

“Al-Shehab’s unjust sentence follows the recent visit of US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron’s hosting of Saudi Crown Prince and de-facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman in Paris.

“Such high-level meetings, without firm preconditions being set, have only emboldened the kingdom’s leadership to commit further abuses.”

They added: “We call on the international community, especially states with diplomatic leverage such as the United States and the United Kingdom, to press the Saudi authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Salma al-Shehab.”