Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Israeli media: For the first time, Prime Minister Netanyahu is signaling that he wants to end the war on Gaza
Israeli Channel 12, citing an American source: We want to have entered a path toward captive release and a ceasefire before Netanyahu arrives in Washington
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One martyr and two injured in the Israeli airstrike that targeted a motorcycle in the town of Mahrouna
Al Mayadeen correspondent to Southern Lebanon: An Israeli drone strike targeted a vehicle between the towns of Jwayya and Mahrouna.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One martyred in the Israeli drone strike on a car in the town of Kawnin
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli drone targets a car in the town of Kawnin
Naeini: If our national interests are attacked again, our response this time will be stronger and more destructive
Naeini: The war has proven that the settlers are defenseless against Iranian missile and drone forces
Naeini: Trump lacks an understanding of the true strength of the Iranian people and is so deluded as to believe he can change the reality of Iran's victory
Naeini: The defeat led to Trump's confusion and loss of balance, which was reflected in his ill-considered statements

Saudi Arabia jails another woman for using Twitter

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 30 Aug 2022 15:37
4 Min Read

Nourah bint Saeed Al-Qahtani is sentenced to 45 years in prison in yet another violation of human rights by Saudi Arabia.

  • x
  • Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani jailed in Saudi Arabia over tweets
    Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani jailed in Saudi Arabia over tweets

Court records reviewed by a human rights organization show that a second Saudi Arabian woman, Nourah bint Saeed Al-Qahtani, has been sentenced to decades in jail for using social media to "violate the public order" by the country's terrorism court.

A specialized criminal court allegedly found Al-Qahtani guilty of "using the internet to tear [Saudi Arabia's] social fabric" and sentenced her to 45 years in prison as a result, according to documents obtained and examined by Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn).

Dawn informed the Guardian of its findings, which the latter said had been corroborated by Saudi sources, in hopes that the public would be able to shed light on Al-Qahtani's case.

Abdullah Alaoudh, the director for the Gulf region at Dawn, said that Saudi authorities appear to have imprisoned Qahtani for “simply tweeting her opinions,” adding that “It is impossible not to connect the dots between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s meeting with [US] President Biden last month in Jeddah and the uptick in the repressive attacks against anyone who dares criticize the crown prince or the Saudi government for well-documented abuses.”

It doesn't seem like Qahtani had a Twitter account under her real name. Other Saudis who are thought to have posted satirical or critical information on Twitter behind aliases have also been detained and arrested according to The Guardian.

The laws of Saudi Arabia are made to give the government the most amount of discretion possible, including the ability to hold people in custody for violating broadly defined anti-terrorism laws like "disturbing public order" and "endangering national unity."

Earlier, Salma Al-Shehab, a 34-year-old mother of two, aged four and six, was initially sentenced to three years in prison for the "crime" of using an internet website to "cause public unrest and destabilize civil and national security." 

However, on Monday, August 15, an appeals court handed down the new sentence, of 34 years in prison followed by a 34-year travel ban, after a public prosecutor requested that the court consider other alleged crimes.

Related News

US raises 'significant concerns' over Saudi sentencing of activist

Truss urged to act after Saudis jail UK student for 34 years on tweets

Shehab was not a prominent or particularly vocal Saudi activist, neither in Saudi Arabia nor in the United Kingdom. 

On Instagram, where she had only 159 followers, she described herself as a dental hygienist, medical educator, Ph.D. student at Leeds University, lecturer at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, wife, and mother to her sons, Noah and Adam.

“MBS’s ruthless repression machine”

The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights condemned Shehab's sentence, which it said was the longest ever imposed on an activist. It was noted that many female activists had been subjected to unfair trials that resulted in arbitrary sentences, as well as "severe torture," including sexual harassment.

Khalid Aljabri, a Saudi living in exile whose sister and brother are detained in Saudi Arabia, said the Shehab case demonstrated Saudi Arabia's view that dissent equals terrorism.

“Salman’s draconian sentencing in a terrorism court over peaceful tweets is the latest manifestation of MBS’s ruthless repression machine,” he said.

“Just like [journalist Jamal] Khashoggi’s assassination, her sentencing is intended to send shock waves inside and outside the kingdom – dare to criticize MBS and you will end up dismembered or in Saudi dungeons.”

While the case has received little attention, the Washington Post published a sarcastic editorial about Saudi Arabia's treatment of the Leeds student on Tuesday, stressing that her case demonstrated that the "commitments" the US President received on reforms were "a farce."

“At the very least, Mr. Biden must now speak out forcefully and demand that Ms. Shehab be released and allowed to return to her sons, 4 and 6 years old, in the United Kingdom, and to resume her studies there,” it read.

Read more: Twitter whistleblower reveals company's 'extreme' security liabilities

  • Salma al-Shehab
  • Twitter
  • Saudi Arabia

Most Read

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends a protest following the US attacks on nuclear sites in Iran, in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

Iran declares victory as ceasefire forces Israeli retreat

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Israeli workers survey the site where a missile launched from Iran struck in Haifa on Sunday, June 22, 2025. (AP)

True Promise 3, wave 20: 40 missiles launched, Kheibar-Shekan in first

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025
Iran launches strikes on Israeli targets, despite alleged ceasefire

Iran victorious as ceasefire with 'Israel' takes effect

  • Politics
  • 24 Jun 2025
Iranian worshippers carry their country's flags in a protest to condemn Israeli attacks on multiple cities across Iran, after the Friday prayers ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Friday, June 20, 2025. (AP)

Iran warns of NPT withdrawal, Strait of Hormuz closure after US attack

  • Politics
  • 22 Jun 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli occupation soldiers search for settlers amid the rubble of buildings destroyed by an Iranian missile strike in Bat Yam, central occupied Palestine, on Sunday, June 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran missile strike flattens Bat Yam, displaces 2,000 settlers

Palestinian fighters from the Islamic Jihad militant group riding on a truck with weaponry on display take part in an anti-Israel parade marking the 36th anniversary of the movement's founding, in Gaza City, Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 (AP)
Politics

Palestinian Resistance attacks Israeli forces in Khan Younis, Jabalia

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stands waiting to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin for the talks at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 23, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Iran suspends IAEA cooperation, Araghchi blames Grossi for attacks

The commander of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit, Brigadier General Mohammad Said Izadi (Illustrated by Mahdi Rtail for Al Mayadeen English)
Politics

Who was Mohammad Said Izadi, head of the Quds Force's Palestine Unit?

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS