Saudi PhD student freed after being jailed over posts, activists say

A Saudi PhD student at the University of Leeds has been released from prison in Saudi Arabia after her sentence over critical social media activity was reduced, activists have said.

Salma al-Shehab, a 36-year-old mother of two, was arrested in 2021 while on holiday in the Gulf kingdom.

She was later jailed by a terrorism tribunal for six years over allegedly “disturbing public order” and “destabilising the social fabric” over posts calling for reforms and activists’ release.

The sentence was increased to 34 years before being reduced twice on appeal – first to 27 years and then to four years with an additional four years suspended. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities.

Shehab’s release was first reported by ALQST, a UK-based Saudi rights group, which said she had been subjected to “four years of arbitrary imprisonment on the basis of her peaceful activism”.

“Her full freedom must now be granted, including the right to travel to complete her studies at Leeds University,” it added.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, has overseen a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent over the past eight years, with peaceful critics on social media handed lengthy prison sentences or even the death penalty after trials by terrorism tribunals that rights groups say are unfair.

Shehab, a dental hygienist and medical educator who was in the final year of her studies at the University of Leeds’ School of Medicine, posted or reposted several messages calling for reforms and the release of prominent activists, clerics and other intellectuals before she travelled to the kingdom five years ago.

One post praised as “prisoners of conscience” a group of leading women’s rights activists who were detained just before a ban on women driving was lifted in 2018 and were later convicted for crimes against the state.

Amnesty International’s Middle East researcher, Dana Ahmed, said Shehab was convicted of terrorism charges “just because she tweeted in support of women’s rights and retweeted Saudi women’s rights activists”.

“While today is a day to celebrate Salma’s release, it’s also an opportunity to reflect on the many others serving similarly lengthy sentences in Saudi Arabia for their activities online,” she added.

“This includes other women such as such as Manahel al-Otaibi, and Nourah al-Qahtani, jailed for speaking out for women’s rights, and Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, jailed for 20 years for satirical tweets.”

The BBC has contacted the Saudi foreign ministry and the University of Leeds for comment.