Leeds University doctoral PhD student jailed in Saudi Arabia for 34-years over tweets is released
A Saudi doctoral student at the University of Leeds has been freed after seeing a 34-year sentence over her activity on Twitter in Saudi Arabia drastically reduced, a rights group has said.
Salma al-Shehab, a mother-of-two, had been sentenced to 34 years in prison back in 2022 over her tweets in support of women’s rights.
A London-based Saudi rights group, ALQST, has now announced her release. Amnesty International has also reported that she has been released.
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.
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Saudi Arabia did not immediately acknowledge her release.
Al-Shehab was detained during a family holiday on January 15 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.
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Judges accused al-Shehab of “disturbing public order” and “destabilising 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 rumours”.
Twitter was rebranded as X in July 2023.