Leeds Uni student expected to be released from Saudi prison following sentence reduction

A University of Leeds student is expected to be released from a Saudi prison “within days” after her sentence was reduced.

In an open letter, campaign groups welcomed the recent decision by a Saudi court to reduce Salma al-Shehab’s sentence from 27 years to four years, with an additional four-year suspension.

This has been the first public statement about the verdict of Salma’s September 2024 retrial.

The 36-year-old dental hygienist and mother of two was sentenced to 27 years in prison while on holiday in Saudi Arabia in January 2021, after she retweeted posts in support of allowing women to drive and calling for the release of detained activists, the Middle East Eye reports.

In the letter, the organisations have urged the Saudi authorities to ensure her imminent release and grant her full freedom, including Salma’s right to travel and return to the University of Leeds to complete her PhD studies.

While rights groups acknowledge the decision marks “a significant step to correct a gross miscarriage of justice”, they expressed deep concern about “the prolonged ordeal [Salma] has endured and the violations of her rights.”

According to the Guardian, the postgraduate student’s alleged offences included using a website to “cause public unrest” and “assisting those who seek to cause disrupt public unrest”. She was also accused of trying to “destabilise civil and national security” by following [certain] Twitter accounts and retweeting their posts.

A Saudi citizen and part of the kingdom’s Shia minority, Salma had been living in Leeds before her detention in Saudi Arabia.

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Shortly after her arrival, she was summoned by authorities, who arrested and prosecuted her for her activity on X, just days before she was set to return to the UK to work on completing her PhD, which focuses on improving dental treatment for patients with disabilities.

After being arrested on 15th January 2021 and convicted in March 2022, Salma was initially sentenced to 34 years in prison and a 34-year travel ban. The organisations said this is one of the longest sentences ever imposed on a peaceful activist.

In January 2023, her sentence was reduced to 27 years before her September 2024 retrial to four years, which has sparked anticipation for her imminent release.

On 25th March 2024, the University of Leeds’ branch of the University and College Union published an open letter calling for the immediate release of Salma. The letter was signed by 340 academics, students and employers at the university.

This followed previous action in September 2022, when 400 academics from more than 50 UK universities and colleges, including the University of Leeds, signed an open letter urging the UK Government to take action regarding the student’s case.

The reasons behind the reduction of Salma’s sentence in September and the groups’ expectation of her imminent release are not immediately clear.

However, in the first week of January, two Saudi human rights defenders, Essa al-Nukheifi and Mohammed al-Qahtani, were conditionally released.

Their release from prison comes after what Alqst said were years of arbitrary imprisonment as a result of their peaceful activism. They both continue to face travel bans which prevent them from leaving Saudi Arabia.

Salma’s drastic sentencing over her social media activity was the first public case of what has become a trend in the kingdom over the past few years.

Other cases have included Nourah al Qahtani’s 45-year sentence over tweets from an anonymous account, one week after Salma’s sentencing.

In November 2022, Abdullah Jelan, a university graduate, was handed 10 years in prison, plus a 10-year travel ban, over anonymous tweets which were mostly focused on unemployment.

Last January, Saudi activist and fitness instructor Manahel al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years for promoting women’s rights on social media.

The open letter from campaign groups said: “In prison, [Salma’s] health has been deteriorating, and she has previously gone on hunger strike in protest against her unjust imprisonment.

“Her imprisonment has also separated her from her young children and derailed her academic career.

“We reiterate our call for [Salma’s] immediate and unconditional release and urge the Saudi authorities to restore her fundamental rights, including the right to travel freely and to finish her studies, and compensate for her wrongful detention.”

Featured image via Amnesty