newspaper reported “The GuardianThe Saudi woman, who was sentenced to 34 years in prison because of her interaction with activists and dissidents on Twitter, reported her via an electronic application.
And the British newspaper reported that, Salma Al-Shehab, was exposed to a report from a Twitter user who called himself “Faisal OTP” through the “We are all security” application of the Ministry of Interior.
A Saudi court had sentenced Al-Shehab, who studies at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom, to 34 years in prison for having a Twitter account and for following and interacting with the accounts of opponents and activists, according to “The Guardian” and “Washington Post” on Tuesday.
According to the newspaper, Salma Al-Shehab, 34, is a mother of two children, and she was initially sentenced to three years in prison for the “crime” of using an Internet site to “provoke public disturbances and destabilize security,” but the Appeals Court issued a new ruling, Monday, to 34 years in prison. A 34-year travel ban follows, too – following the prosecutor asked the court to consider other alleged crimes.
According to a translation of court records, seen by The Guardian, the new charges include claiming that the shooting star was “aiding those who seek to provoke public disturbances and destabilize security (…) by following their Twitter accounts” and retweeting their tweets.
It is believed that Al-Shehab may still be able to request a new appeal in the case.
A review of Salma Shehab’s tweets and activities on Twitter shows that she received a message from a person named “Faisal OTP” following she commented on a tweet for the “Saudi Projects” account with the approval of the Council of Ministers to operate a bus transportation system in some cities of the Kingdom.
On October 9, Al-Shehab commented on the tweet of “Saudi Projects” with the word “Our Pyramid”. In response to this tweet, Faisal wrote on November 15: “I searched in your two books and the flag of Saudi Arabia caught me next to the flag of Palestine. Jani Fadoul. I entered your account only to throw rubbish and pathetic in it. I photographed such a picture and sent it in We are all safe. If you are in Saudi Arabia, I hope that you will be deported to the beloved Palestine.” .
For her part, the meteor responded to Faisal, saying: “Oh, adorn it from an invitation. God writes for us a visit to Palestine and a prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque. But for the time being, I will stay with you and send (send) instead of complaining twice.”
Our pyramid!
— Salma ♀️ ???????????????? (@I_Salma1988) October 9, 2019
We are All Security is a Saudi government application that allows citizens and residents to report crimes related to personal assaults on life, threats, impersonation, extortion, hacking of social media accounts, as well as defamation, fraud, and other criminal offenses.
The application describes the Saudi citizen as the “first security man.”
Shehab was still working on completing her PhD in the UK in December 2020 when she returned to Saudi Arabia to visit her family during January 2021. A few weeks following her visit, she was called to report to Saudi authorities who had arrested and prosecuted her for her use of Twitter.
Shehab’s PhD research focused on improving dental treatment for patients with disabilities.
Oh adorn it from the invitation. May God write us a visit to Palestine and a prayer in Al-Aqsa Mosque.
But for the time being, I’m sitting on your butt, and instead of complaining for two ????????— Salma ♀️ ???????????????? (@I_Salma1988) November 15, 2020
A University of Leeds spokesperson said on Wednesday: “We are deeply concerned to learn of this latest development in a peaceful setting as we seek advice on whether there is anything we can do to support it. Our thoughts remain with Salma, her family and friends among our close-knit community of researchers in the studies. Supreme”.
On Wednesday, the US State Department said that the United States is studying the case of women’s rights activist, Salma Al-Shehab, who was sentenced to 34 years in prison in Saudi Arabia.
“Exercising freedom of expression to defend women’s rights should not be criminalized, it should never be criminalized,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Human rights groups and other pro-democracy outlets have condemned Chehab’s case and said the harsh verdict once morest her was further evidence of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s relentless campaign once morest dissidents.
The ruling was issued by a terrorism court weeks following US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which human rights activists have warned might encourage the kingdom to step up its crackdown on dissidents and other pro-democracy activists.
The use of such apps – which can be downloaded via app stores for iPhone and Android users – represents a “new phase of digital authoritarianism,” said Nora El-Gizawy, a researcher at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto.
She added, “This type of censorship was by the security intelligence forces, but now the existence of these applications and the encouragement of citizens to report on each other, opens the door to widespread censorship.”
“It’s very worrying because people who post something can’t predict the risks or who will report it, and who will come back and look in their feed for posts that don’t match up with government propaganda,” El-Gizawy said.
Al-Shehab’s account also shows that she is sympathetic to women’s issues and has tweeted in support of the release of prisoners of conscience, especially women.
For his part, one of Salma Al-Shehab’s friends in the United Kingdom said that they are concerned that she will be targeted by the Saudi government.
Al-Siddiq, who asked not to be identified for fear of similar targeting, said Al-Shehab has been tweeting regularly in support of the rights of others but believes that it has gone unnoticed because she does not have many followers on Twitter. Salma Al-Shehab’s account currently has only 2,900 followers.
The friend added, “She has always stood for all human rights in Saudi Arabia or abroad. She has a very nice personality and you can’t see her without a beautiful smile on her face.”
He said Salma Al-Shehab, who has been studying in the UK since 2017, was not particularly critical of the government and was supportive of Vision 2030, Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil and toward services such as health and tourism.
He continued, “She was happy with the small steps towards women’s rights such as driving.”
