The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday expressed outrage over a 34-year prison sentence handed down to a Saudi woman, Salma Al-Shehab charged with following and retweeting so-called dissidents and activists.
Doctoral student Al-Shehab was sentenced to 34 years in jail, followed by a 34-year travel ban in connection with a series of tweets and retweets on political and human rights issues in Saudi Arabia.
“We urge the Saudi authorities to quash her conviction and release her immediately and unconditionally.
“She should never have been arrested and charged in the first place for such conduct,” OHCHR spokesperson Liz Throssell said in a statement.
According to the statement, the extraordinarily lengthy sentence adds to “the chilling effect” among Government critics and civil society at large.
It described it as yet another example of Saudi authorities weaponising the country’s counter-terrorism and anti-cybercrime laws to target.
