34-year-old Saudi woman, Salma al-shehabsentenced to the same number of years in prison in his country For his activity on Twitter, regional human rights organizations have condemned the harshest punishment ever imposed in the kingdom for peacefully expressing their views.
“On August 9, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced him to an additional 34 years in prison. prohibiting him from traveling abroad for a similar period after completing his sentenceGulf Center for Human Rights (GCDH) said in a statement.
“This unjust sentence only by their peaceful and civilized activities on TwitterAdded NGO.
GCDH, this is“The heaviest sentence ever received by a peaceful activist” Saudi Arabia, A country where Twitter users and other social network users are regularly penalized for expressing their opinions about themselves.
Palestinian cause
This organization “particularly” created Al Shehab’s Twitter account. Defending the prisoners of conscience and belief in the justice of the Palestinian cause“.
Prisoner, he added, mother of two children and doctoral education in oral health Until January 15, 2021, when he was arrested in Leeds, England, while traveling to his home country for a vacation with his family.
After being detained for several months during the investigation, he suffered a period of bad treatments and when he was not allowed to hire a lawyer, he was tried by a court specializing in terrorism crimes and initially sentenced him to six years in prison.
However, in the reconsideration of the sentence given by the court of appeal, the prison sentence was increased to 34 years for crimes such as “destroying the security of the society and the stability of the State”, “inciting riots”, “helping those who want to help”. CGDH said “disrupting public order” or “spreading false and malicious rumors on Twitter.”
mechanism against criticism
In a statement, London-based Saudi NGO ALQST expressed fears that this extremely harsh punishment would be imposed. “The beginning of a new trend Saudi authorities followed suit in the coming days. mechanism to punish anyone who criticizes its policies.
The Gulf Center for Human Rights describes it as “a threatening and intimidating message from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is in control of the country, to all internet activists that this is the fate that awaits those who use social networks.”
Human rights organizations have repeatedly denounced that Saudi Arabia routinely prosecutes and punishes activists, social media users, and critics in general as terrorists simply for peacefully expressing their views.
Source: Informacion
