Amnesty International has renewed its call for the release of activist Salma Al-Shehab, on the occasion of the two-year anniversary of her imprisonment, describing her trial as “extremely unfair”.
A Saudi court had sentenced Al-Shehab, 34, who is studying at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, for having a Twitter account, and for following and interacting with accounts of opponents and activists.
The organization called on activists to appeal to the Saudi monarch, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, to release Al-Shehab immediately, without any condition or restriction, and to annul her conviction.
And she said on her Twitter account: “Two years have passed since the Saudi activist and doctoral student, Salma Al-Shehab, was imprisoned because of her peaceful tweets in support of women’s rights.”
Two years have passed since the activist and doctoral student was imprisoned #Saudi Arabia #Salma _ Al-Shihab Because of her peaceful tweets in support of #Women’s rights. In August 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court increased her prison sentence from 6 to 34 years following a grossly unfair trial, followed by a 34-year travel ban. pic.twitter.com/cDngSgE0uO
– Amnesty International (@AmnestyAR) January 15, 2023
She stated that last August, the competent criminal court in Riyadh “raised her prison sentence from 6 to 34 years, followed by a travel ban for a similar period.”
She added, “The verdict against Al-Shehab came in the wake of a grossly unfair trial, as she was accused of committing crimes that included “disrupting public order,” by using her Twitter account and reposting tweets by activists supporting women’s rights.
The organization said that according to court documents that it reviewed, “Al-Shehab was held in solitary confinement for 285 days prior to her appearance at trial. She was also denied legal representation throughout her pre-trial detention, including during her interrogation sessions.”
Al-Shihab, 34, had said earlier that she had been subjected to ill-treatment and harassment while in detention, noting that at least five men assaulted her “repeatedly” because she belongs to the Shiite minority in the kingdom.
The Special Terrorism Court, before which it was tried, alleged that Al-Shehab supported terrorist ideology by using Twitter, including following the accounts of some opponents.
On the other hand, Al-Shehab previously strongly denied that following some accounts on Twitter means that she is sympathetic to their cause.
She also denied the charge that following individuals on Twitter is the same as offering them “help” and said she did not espouse any violent or terrorist ideology.
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