Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Global outrage as Saudi woman and PhD student jailed for 34 years for using Twitter

Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two young children, was jailed for reportedly following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter.

Global outrage as Saudi woman and PhD student jailed for 34 years for using Twitter

A 34-year-old Saudi PhD student at Leeds University has been sentenced to 34 years in prison for using Twitter, media reports said.

Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two young children, was jailed for reportedly following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter, the Guardian reported.


She was initially sentenced to serve three years in prison, but an appeals court on Monday (15) handed down the new sentence, 34 years in prison followed by a 34-year travel ban. 

According to the report, Shehab had returned home for holidays when she was booked. She was arrested on January 15 last year, days before she was scheduled to return to the UK.

Organisations such as the Human Rights Foundation, The Freedom Initiative, the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights and ALQST for Human Rights, have condemned the sentence and demanded for her release.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom has said that the harsh sentencing happened due to Shehab’s religious identity as a Shi’a Muslim.

“We call on Saudi authorities to free Salma, allowing her to return to care for the children and to complete her studies safely in the United Kingdom. Tweeting in solidarity with women’s rights activists is not a crime," said The Freedom Initiative in a statement.

The Berlin-based European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), said: "The Public Prosecution accused her of several charges, including undermining the security of society and the stability of the state, spreading sedition, providing aid to those who seek to disrupt public order, and spreading false and malicious rumours on Twitter. Appeals court judges invoked the counterterrorism regime and its financing to justify the harsh ruling, even though all charges against her relate to her Twitter activity."

Shehab has been alleged to 'assisting those who seek to cause public unrest and destabilise civil and national security by following their Twitter accounts', court documents reviewed by the newspaper stated.

The Guardian reported that Shehab was not a vocal Saudi activist, either inside the kingdom or in the UK.

She describes herself as a dental hygienist, medical educator, PhD student at Leeds University and lecturer at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, and as a wife and a mother to her sons, Noah and Adam.

She had 2,597 followers on Twitter. Shehab sometimes retweeted tweets by Saudi dissidents living in exile, which called for the release of political prisoners in the kingdom. She also supported the case of Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi feminist activist who was previously imprisoned and is now living under a travel ban, media reports said. 

Khalid Aljabri, a Saudi who is living in exile and whose sister and brother are being held in the kingdom, said the Shehab case proved Saudi Arabia’s view that dissent equates to terrorism.

It was reported that Shehab had at times been held in solitary confinement. Also, she was not able to communicate with the judge about how she had been handled.

Interestingly, one of Twitter’s biggest investors is the Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, who owns more than 5 per cent through his investment company, Kingdom Holdings.

However, Kingdom Holding announced in May that it had sold about 17 per cent of its company to the PIF, where Prince Mohammed serves as chairman, for $1.5bn. Which makes the Saudi government a significant indirect investor in Twitter, the Guardian report said.

Meanwhile, Twitter claimed that investors do not play a role in managing the company’s day-to-day business.

More For You

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

Narendra Modi in a group picture with US vice president JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance and their children Ewan and Vivek, at Elysee Palace in Paris. (ANI Photo)

Modi meets Vance, family in Paris

US vice president JD Vance and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi spoke on Tuesday (11) about how the US can assist India in diversifying its energy sourcing through investments in US nuclear technology, the White House said.

The meeting between Vance and Modi in Paris, where they were both attending an artificial intelligence summit, came ahead of the prime minister's US visit later this week in which topics like trade, investment, technology and immigration are expected to be discussed.

Keep ReadingShow less
Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

A British Airways passenger plane takes off behind houses next to land earmarked for a third runway at Longford near Heathrow Airport. REUTERS/Toby Melville

Heathrow to submit third runway proposal by summer

LONDON's Heathrow Airport, one of the world's busiest hubs, will submit its proposal for a third runway to the British government by summer, its chief executive Thomas Woldbye will say in a speech on Wednesday (12).

The move comes after chancellor Rachel Reeves said last month the government would back the construction of a new runway at Heathrow to boost trade and economic growth.

Keep ReadingShow less
trump-musk-

Musk, standing alongside Trump in the Oval Office with his 4-year-old son, said he was leading the effort to cut government waste. (Photo: Getty Images)

Trump, Musk move to cut federal workforce under new order

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump has directed federal agencies to work with Elon Musk to identify government jobs that can be cut and functions that can be eliminated.

The move is part of an effort to reduce the federal workforce and align it with Trump’s policy priorities.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ed-Miliband-India

Miliband said his meetings with Indian officials reinforced the commitment to work together in key areas, including grid modernisation, offshore wind, and industrial decarbonisation.

Exclusive: UK-India energy partnership strengthens as Miliband backs clean transition

BRITAIN sees India as a “crucial partner” as both countries aim to deepen their cooperation on clean energy, with a focus on renewables and climate action, UK secretary of state for energy security and net zero, Ed Miliband, said.

On a visit to India this week, Miliband highlighted India’s ambitious renewable energy targets and its commitment to achieving net zero by 2070.

Keep ReadingShow less
Bangladesh's former government accused of 'crimes against humanity'

Sheikh Hasina (Photo credit: Getty Images)

Bangladesh's former government accused of 'crimes against humanity'

BANGLADESH's former government was behind systematic attacks and killings of protesters as it strived to hold onto power last year, the UN said Wednesday (12), warning the abuses could amount to "crimes against humanity".

Before premier Sheikh Hasina was toppled in a student-led revolution last August, her government oversaw a systematic crackdown on protesters and others, including "hundreds of extrajudicial killings", the UN said.

Keep ReadingShow less