A Saudi woman has been sentenced to 34 years in prison by the country’s court for allegedly retweeting tweets from dissidents.
Salma al-Shehab was accused by the Saudi Court of causing ‘public unrest’ and ‘destabilising civil and national security’. The PhD student who had been studying in Leeds University in the UK returned to Saudi Arabia for a holiday only to be faced by the sentence handed down by a special terrorist court.
The married mother of two had initially been given a three-year prison sentence but it was later increased to 34 years including a 34-year travel ban.
Salma is a dental hygienist, PhD student at Leeds University and also a lecturer at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University.
This is not the first time the country has issued massive sentences for ridiculous reasons. According to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, women in Saudi Arabia experience discrimination in relation to marriage, family, and divorce, despite recent reforms.
“The Saudi government continues to target and repress women’s rights activists and movements,” stated the organisation concerning the matter.
The Saudi Government controls a major stake in twitter through Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund (PIF).