DUBAI: A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for allegedly causing harm to the country through her social media activity, according to a court document obtained on Wednesday. It was the second such sentence to have scrutinized the state this month.
Little is known about the Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani, one of the largest tribes in Saudi Arabia and has no clear history of activism. An official chargesheet seen by The Associated Press and human rights groups described his case as his use of social media, though Saudi officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The sentence comes after international outcry over a similar sentence of 34 years in prison to Salma al-Shahab, a Saudi doctoral student at the University of Leeds in England.
Earlier this month, a special criminal court in Riyadh sentenced him to 45 years under state-wide terrorism and cybercrime laws. That court, which usually deals with political and national security matters, sentenced al-Qahtani during the appeal of his previous conviction.
The judges accused al-Qahtani of “disrupting the harmony of society” and “destabilizing the social fabric”, according to the chargesheet, citing her activity on social media. He alleged that al-Qahtani “disrupted public order through information networks.”
It is not clear what al-Qahtani posted online or where his hearing took place. He was taken into custody on July 4, 2021, according to Democracy for the Arab World Now, a Washington-based human rights watchdog that is critical of the state.
“This seems like the start of a new wave of convictions and convictions by new judges who have been placed in the Special Criminal Court,” it said. Abdullah AlauddinDawn’s regional director.
independence initiativeAnother Washington-based human rights group also condemned al-Qahtani’s “outrageously long” prison sentence.
“It’s so hard to ignore the fact that we’re seeing these sentences as (Crown) Prince Mohammed bin Salman) has got increased legitimacy in the international arena,” said Allison McManusGroup Research Director.
Social media sentences have drawn renewed attention to Prince Mohammed’s crackdown on dissent, even as the ultra-Orthodox Islamic nation has given women new freedoms such as the right to drive.
President Joe Biden In July he traveled to the oil-rich kingdom for a meeting with Prince Mohammed, which he said confronted him about human rights. Biden came to office to make Saudi Arabia “fairy” over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,
Little is known about the Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani, one of the largest tribes in Saudi Arabia and has no clear history of activism. An official chargesheet seen by The Associated Press and human rights groups described his case as his use of social media, though Saudi officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The sentence comes after international outcry over a similar sentence of 34 years in prison to Salma al-Shahab, a Saudi doctoral student at the University of Leeds in England.
Earlier this month, a special criminal court in Riyadh sentenced him to 45 years under state-wide terrorism and cybercrime laws. That court, which usually deals with political and national security matters, sentenced al-Qahtani during the appeal of his previous conviction.
The judges accused al-Qahtani of “disrupting the harmony of society” and “destabilizing the social fabric”, according to the chargesheet, citing her activity on social media. He alleged that al-Qahtani “disrupted public order through information networks.”
It is not clear what al-Qahtani posted online or where his hearing took place. He was taken into custody on July 4, 2021, according to Democracy for the Arab World Now, a Washington-based human rights watchdog that is critical of the state.
“This seems like the start of a new wave of convictions and convictions by new judges who have been placed in the Special Criminal Court,” it said. Abdullah AlauddinDawn’s regional director.
independence initiativeAnother Washington-based human rights group also condemned al-Qahtani’s “outrageously long” prison sentence.
“It’s so hard to ignore the fact that we’re seeing these sentences as (Crown) Prince Mohammed bin Salman) has got increased legitimacy in the international arena,” said Allison McManusGroup Research Director.
Social media sentences have drawn renewed attention to Prince Mohammed’s crackdown on dissent, even as the ultra-Orthodox Islamic nation has given women new freedoms such as the right to drive.
President Joe Biden In July he traveled to the oil-rich kingdom for a meeting with Prince Mohammed, which he said confronted him about human rights. Biden came to office to make Saudi Arabia “fairy” over the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi,