Human rights activist Salma al-Shehab was given the harshest sentence ever awarded against a female or male activist, according to campaigners who criticized the verdict.
A student of the University of Leeds has been sentenced to 34 years in prison in Saudi Arabia for following activists and dissidents on Twitter, according to a statement from the university.
The sentence was handed down to human rights activist Salma al-Shehab in a verdict that has been criticized by activists who claim it is the “longest issued against female or male activists.”
She was initially sentenced to three years in prison for using the internet to “create public discontent and destabilize civil and national security”; however, on Monday, she was granted a new sentence after an appeals court was requested to investigate other alleged offenses.
A representative of the University of Leeds stated: “We are profoundly troubled by this recent development in Salma’s case and would like to know whether there is anything we can do to assist her.
Our thoughts are with Salma, her family, and her friends in our tight-knit community of graduate students.
The 34-year-old is a postgraduate researcher in the final year of her Ph.D. program at the University of Leeds’ School of Medicine.
The married mother of two children, who was also issued a 34-year travel restriction, was caught while on vacation in Saudi Arabia in January 2021.
European Saudi Human Rights Organisation (ESOHR) stated: “This judgment establishes a hazardous precedent for women activists and human rights defenders, even though not all levels of litigation have been implemented.
“The Public Prosecution charged her with multiple offenses, including undermining the security of society and the stability of the state, inciting sedition, aiding those who aim to disrupt public order, and disseminating false and destructive rumors on Twitter.”
The organization stated that the phrase “demonstrates that the recent efforts taken by the Saudi government on the issue of women’s rights are not genuine and are part of its whitewashing campaigns to improve its dismal human rights record.”
The Guardian said that Twitter has yet to comment on the issue, although it is anticipated Salma may appeal the verdict.
