Saudi Woman Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Social Media Posts Rights Group Says

RIYADH, Aug 30 (Reuters) – A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for posts on social media, a rights group said, in the latest example of a crackdown on women activists following a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden. to the kingdom. Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was convicted “probably last week” by the Saudi Special Criminal Court on charges of “using the Internet to tear apart the social fabric (Saudi Arabia)” and “violating public order by using the social media,” based in Washington. DAWN said in a statement, citing court documents. The Saudi government’s media office did not respond to a request for comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up DAWN said little was known about Qahtani or what her social media posts indicated and that it was continuing to investigate her case. Qahtani’s conviction came just weeks after Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and PhD candidate at the University of Leeds in Britain, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter. The latest cases came after Biden raised human rights concerns, a sticking point in relations between Washington and its traditional ally Riyadh, during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July. Washington said last week it had raised “significant concerns” with Saudi Arabia about Shehab’s conviction, which included a 34-year travel ban over her tweets. read more The Qahtani and Shehab cases underscored the crackdown on dissent led by Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, even as he has supported reforms such as allowing women to drive and pushed for job creation projects. Relatives of Saudi political prisoners initially hoped Biden’s visit would help free loved ones who have been jailed as part of the crackdown. read more Abdullah al-Aoudh, Director of Gulf Research at DAWN, said that in both the Shebab and Qahtani cases, Saudi authorities used “abusive” laws to target and punish Saudi citizens for criticizing the government in Twitter. “But that’s only half the story, because even the crown prince wouldn’t allow such vindictive and excessive punishments if he felt these actions would face substantial censure from the United States and other Western governments. Obviously, they don’t,” Aoudh said. in DAWN’s announcement. Saudi officials say the kingdom has no political prisoners. “We have prisoners in Saudi Arabia who have committed crimes and who have been tried by our courts and found guilty,” Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters last month. “The idea that they would be classified as political prisoners is ridiculous,” he added. read more Tensions over oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s human rights record have strained ties with the United States, including over women’s rights and the 2018 killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi Editing by Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Saudi Woman Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Social Media Posts Rights Group Says Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-06” author: “Sandra Snyder”

RIYADH, Aug 30 (Reuters) – A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for posts on social media, a rights group said, in the latest example of a crackdown on women activists following a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden. to the kingdom. Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was convicted “probably last week” by the Saudi Special Criminal Court on charges of “using the Internet to tear apart the social fabric (Saudi Arabia)” and “violating public order by using the social media,” based in Washington. DAWN said in a statement, citing court documents. The Saudi government’s media office did not respond to a request for comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up DAWN said little was known about Qahtani or what her social media posts indicated and that it was continuing to investigate her case. Qahtani’s conviction came just weeks after Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and PhD candidate at the University of Leeds in Britain, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter. The latest cases came after Biden raised human rights concerns, a sticking point in relations between Washington and its traditional ally Riyadh, during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July. Washington said last week it had raised “significant concerns” with Saudi Arabia about Shehab’s conviction, which included a 34-year travel ban over her tweets. read more The Qahtani and Shehab cases underscored the crackdown on dissent led by Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, even as he has supported reforms such as allowing women to drive and pushed for job creation projects. Relatives of Saudi political prisoners initially hoped Biden’s visit would help free loved ones who have been jailed as part of the crackdown. read more Abdullah al-Aoudh, Director of Gulf Research at DAWN, said that in both the Shebab and Qahtani cases, Saudi authorities used “abusive” laws to target and punish Saudi citizens for criticizing the government in Twitter. “But that’s only half the story, because even the crown prince wouldn’t allow such vindictive and excessive punishments if he felt these actions would face substantial censure from the United States and other Western governments. Obviously, they don’t,” Aoudh said. in DAWN’s announcement. Saudi officials say the kingdom has no political prisoners. “We have prisoners in Saudi Arabia who have committed crimes and who have been tried by our courts and found guilty,” Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters last month. “The idea that they would be classified as political prisoners is ridiculous,” he added. read more Tensions over oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s human rights record have strained ties with the United States, including over women’s rights and the 2018 killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi Editing by Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Saudi Woman Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Social Media Posts Rights Group Says Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Eleanor Weis”

RIYADH, Aug 30 (Reuters) – A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for posts on social media, a rights group said, in the latest example of a crackdown on women activists following a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden. to the kingdom. Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was convicted “probably last week” by the Saudi Special Criminal Court on charges of “using the Internet to tear apart the social fabric (Saudi Arabia)” and “violating public order by using the social media,” based in Washington. DAWN said in a statement, citing court documents. The Saudi government’s media office did not respond to a request for comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up DAWN said little was known about Qahtani or what her social media posts indicated and that it was continuing to investigate her case. Qahtani’s conviction came just weeks after Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and PhD candidate at the University of Leeds in Britain, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter. The latest cases came after Biden raised human rights concerns, a sticking point in relations between Washington and its traditional ally Riyadh, during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July. Washington said last week it had raised “significant concerns” with Saudi Arabia about Shehab’s conviction, which included a 34-year travel ban over her tweets. read more The Qahtani and Shehab cases underscored the crackdown on dissent led by Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, even as he has supported reforms such as allowing women to drive and pushed for job creation projects. Relatives of Saudi political prisoners initially hoped Biden’s visit would help free loved ones who have been jailed as part of the crackdown. read more Abdullah al-Aoudh, Director of Gulf Research at DAWN, said that in both the Shebab and Qahtani cases, Saudi authorities used “abusive” laws to target and punish Saudi citizens for criticizing the government in Twitter. “But that’s only half the story, because even the crown prince wouldn’t allow such vindictive and excessive punishments if he felt these actions would face substantial censure from the United States and other Western governments. Obviously, they don’t,” Aoudh said. in DAWN’s announcement. Saudi officials say the kingdom has no political prisoners. “We have prisoners in Saudi Arabia who have committed crimes and who have been tried by our courts and found guilty,” Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters last month. “The idea that they would be classified as political prisoners is ridiculous,” he added. read more Tensions over oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s human rights record have strained ties with the United States, including over women’s rights and the 2018 killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi Editing by Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

title: “Saudi Woman Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison For Social Media Posts Rights Group Says Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-31” author: “Joseph Hulsey”

RIYADH, Aug 30 (Reuters) – A Saudi court has sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for posts on social media, a rights group said, in the latest example of a crackdown on women activists following a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden. to the kingdom. Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was convicted “probably last week” by the Saudi Special Criminal Court on charges of “using the Internet to tear apart the social fabric (Saudi Arabia)” and “violating public order by using the social media,” based in Washington. DAWN said in a statement, citing court documents. The Saudi government’s media office did not respond to a request for comment. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up DAWN said little was known about Qahtani or what her social media posts indicated and that it was continuing to investigate her case. Qahtani’s conviction came just weeks after Salma al-Shehab, a mother of two and PhD candidate at the University of Leeds in Britain, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter. The latest cases came after Biden raised human rights concerns, a sticking point in relations between Washington and its traditional ally Riyadh, during his meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in July. Washington said last week it had raised “significant concerns” with Saudi Arabia about Shehab’s conviction, which included a 34-year travel ban over her tweets. read more The Qahtani and Shehab cases underscored the crackdown on dissent led by Prince Mohammed, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, even as he has supported reforms such as allowing women to drive and pushed for job creation projects. Relatives of Saudi political prisoners initially hoped Biden’s visit would help free loved ones who have been jailed as part of the crackdown. read more Abdullah al-Aoudh, Director of Gulf Research at DAWN, said that in both the Shebab and Qahtani cases, Saudi authorities used “abusive” laws to target and punish Saudi citizens for criticizing the government in Twitter. “But that’s only half the story, because even the crown prince wouldn’t allow such vindictive and excessive punishments if he felt these actions would face substantial censure from the United States and other Western governments. Obviously, they don’t,” Aoudh said. in DAWN’s announcement. Saudi officials say the kingdom has no political prisoners. “We have prisoners in Saudi Arabia who have committed crimes and who have been tried by our courts and found guilty,” Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told Reuters last month. “The idea that they would be classified as political prisoners is ridiculous,” he added. read more Tensions over oil-rich Saudi Arabia’s human rights record have strained ties with the United States, including over women’s rights and the 2018 killing and dismemberment of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comSign up Reporting by Aziz El Yaakoubi Editing by Mark Heinrich Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.