Salma al-Shehab, Saudi activist, sentenced to 34 years for tweeting

Shehab had been active on the social media platform during campaigns demanding the abolition of the country’s guardianship system, which gives men legal control over certain aspects of female relatives’ lives. She had called for the freeing of Saudi prisoners of conscience.

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According to court records obtained by The Washington Post, Shehab was accused of using a social media website “to disrupt public order, undermine the security of society and stability of the state, and support those who had committed criminal actions according to the counterterrorism law and its financing.”

The documents said she supported such individuals “by following their social media accounts and rebroadcasting their tweets,” and that she spread false rumors. The documents went on to say that after she appealed an initial conviction, it was decided that her prison sentence was too short “considering her crimes,” and that her previous sentence failed to “achieve restraint and deterrence.”

On top of a 34-year sentence and subsequent 34-year travel ban, which begins after the prison sentence ends, the court ruled that her mobile phone be confiscated and her Twitter account be “closed down permanently.”

The charges are familiar: Sowing sedition and destabilizing the state are accusations frequently used against activists in the kingdom who speak up against the status quo. Saudi Arabia has long wielded its counterterrorism law against citizens whose protests are deemed unacceptable, especially if they criticize the de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

In late 2021, the initial ruling against Shehab gave her six years in prison. When she appealed, however, it was increased to 34 — the country’s longest sentence against a peaceful activist, according to several human rights groups.

Rights groups have repeatedly warned about the government’s recent use of the counterterrorism law. In April, Human Rights Watch said laws such as “the notoriously abusive counterterrorism law and the anti-cybercrime law, include vague and overly broad provisions that have been widely interpreted and abused.” The rulings are also often characterized by inconsistent and harsh sentences.

As the sentence includes the closure of her Twitter account, at least one rights group is trying to make sure it is not shut down, said Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at ALQST, a London-based Saudi rights group.

“Now we’re working with Twitter not to…