Amnesty International and other rights groups have been calling for al-Shehab’s release since her arrest in 2021 [Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images]
A Saudi doctoral student at Leeds University in the UK has been freed after seeing her 34-year sentence for her activity on Twitter in Saudi Arabia drastically reduced, a rights group said Monday
Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two, had been sentenced to 34 years in prison back in 2022 over her tweets.
A London-based Saudi rights group, ALQST, announced her release. In January, ALQST and other groups said al-Shehab had seen her sentence reduced to four years in prison, with an additional four years suspended.
“Her full freedom must now be granted, including the right to travel to complete her studies,” the group said.
Saudi Arabia did not immediately acknowledge her release. Saudi officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Al-Shehab was detained during a family vacation on 15 January 2021, just days before she planned to return to the UK. She is a member of Saudi Arabia’s Shia Muslim minority, which has long complained of systematic discrimination in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.
Judges accused al-Shehab of “disturbing public order” and “destabilizing the social fabric” – claims stemming solely from her social media activity, according to an official charge sheet. They alleged al-Shehab followed and retweeted dissident accounts on Twitter and “transmitted false rumors.”
In 2023, al-Shehab launched a hunger strike alongside seven other women in protest against their arrest. Rights groups, the UN and UK academics have called for her release since her imprisonment.
