Leeds Uni student released from Saudi prison following sentence reduction

A Leeds University student has been released from a Saudi prison following a reduction in her sentence.

Salma al-Shehab was imprisoned in 2021 for retweeting posts in support of women’s rights whilst on holiday in Saudi Arabia.

After being sentenced to 27 years in prison, this was reduced to four years, leading to her release earlier this month.

According to Amnesty International, Dana Ahmed, the organisation’s Middle East researcher, has said in a statement responding to the student’s release: “Salma al-Shehab’s ordeal in prison is finally over.

“Salma spent almost 300 days in prolonged solitary confinement, was denied legal representation, and was then repeatedly convicted on terrorism charges and handed a decades-long sentence.”

Dana has urged Saudi Arabia’s authorities to ensure Salma is not subjected to a travel ban or further punitive measures following her release.

The researcher noted that while Salma’s release is to be celebrated, it must also be used as an opportunity to reflect on others who remain in Saudi prisons under long sentences, due to their online activities.

Dana continued: “This includes other women such as such as Manahel al-Otaibi, and Noura al-Qahtani, jailed for speaking out for women’s rights and Abdulrahman al-Sadhan, jailed for 20 years for satirical tweets.

“We urge the Saudi authorities to immediately release them and end their relentless crackdown on the right to freedom of expression once and for all.

“Salma’s release would not have been possible without the tireless campaigning of human rights activists around the world.”

According to the Guardian, Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and advocacy at the Europe-based Saudi rights group ALQST, said the news of Salma’s release was “fantastic”. She added: “She has not seen her children during her whole four years of imprisonment.”

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Salma al-Shehab, a 36-year-old PhD student and mother of two, was arrested on 15th January 2021 for posting and sharing content from Saudi women’s rights activists on X. As a result, she faced charges including “disturb[ing] public order” and “destabilis[ing] the security of society and the stability of the state.”

In March 2022, the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) sentenced her to six years in prison. During her appeal in August 2022, prosecutors sought a harsher penalty, leading the SCC to extend her sentence to 34 years.

Salma challenged this decision and in January 2023, the Supreme Court referred her case back to the SCC’s appeals chamber, which reduced her sentence to 27 years.

In September 2024, following another review by the Supreme Court and the SCC’s appeals chamber, her sentence was reduced to four years, with an additional four year suspension.

Salma completed her four-year term in December 2024.

Featured image via Amnesty