In Saudi Arabia, criticizing the power in place is very heavily repressed. Two Saudi women, Salma al-Chehab and Nourah al-Qahtani, have borne the brunt of this policy. For tweeting their opposition to the regime of Mohammed bin Salman, these two women were sentenced in 2022 to 34 and 45 years in prison.
In a report dated June 19, consulted on Saturday by AFP, we learn that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention described the detentions of Salma al-Chehab and Nourah al-Qahtani as “arbitrary”. They demand their release.
“Cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”
These Saudi women should be entitled “to compensation and other reparations, in accordance with international law”, he added. UN experts also claim to have collected credible evidence that Salma al-Chehab suffered “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. They mention “threats, insults, harassment and inappropriate methods used during his interrogation”, based in particular on information provided by human rights groups such as ALQST (Democracy for the Arab World Now) and MENA Rights. Group.
In its response to the panel, Saudi Arabia dismissed those findings, calling them “unfounded” and lacking “evidence”, denying any mistreatment.
Who are the two opponents?
A doctoral student in England and from the Shiite minority, Salma Al-Chehab was arrested in January 2021 while she was on vacation in her country. The mother-of-two said she was placed in solitary confinement for 285 days before being tried for Twitter posts defending women’s rights. In August 2022, she was given a 34-year prison sentence with a ban on leaving the territory for a similar period after her release from detention.
Nourah al-Qahtani was sentenced to 45 years in prison last year for “challenging” King Salman and his son, the crown prince, on Twitter. According to court documents consulted at the time by AFP, she would be behind an anonymous account on which appeared messages evoking anti-government demonstrations, banned in the kingdom.