Salma al-Shebab, a Saudi student at Leeds University who was reportedly returning to the UK for vacation when she was detained, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for using a Twitter account and for following and retweeting dissident activists.
As a result of tweets she sent out advocating for women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, the mother of two was charged with using Twitter to stir up public disturbance and undermine civil and national security.
According to a source, Al-Shebab, who has two young sons, ages four and six, was previously given a six-year prison sentence; but, on Monday, a Saudi terrorism court increased that sentence to 34 years when the activist appealed.
Salma al-Shebab was reportedly detained in January 2021 while on vacation in Saudi Arabia, just before she was set to fly back to the United Kingdom to finish her PhD at the University of Leeds.
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In rendering its decision, the court reportedly referred to Al-Shebab’s social media activity, in which she tweeted in favor of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, expressed solidarity with activists for these rights who were detained, including Loujain al-Hathloul, and then called for their release.
According to reports, she was detained after sharing a tweet from Al-Hathloul’s sister, Lina.
“Freedom for Loujain Al-Hathloul … ” read the post. Freedom for all prisoners of conscience. Your freedom is my first wish for this New Year – Happy New Year, reports the Daily Mail.
She was charged with “providing succour to those seeking to disrupt public order and undermine the safety of the general public and stability of the state, and publishing false and tendentious rumours on Twitter”.
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