Why Has A Peaceful Activist Been Jailed For 34 Years?

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In a completely shocking and bizarre incident a Saudi woman has been sentenced to imprisonment as many years as her actual age of 34 years. Apparently, the lady is a PhD student at the University of Leeds (UK) and was returning home when she was booked for creating religious disharmony.

The individual is Salma al-Shehab, who has been accused of retweeting views of dissidents and activists on Twitter. The ruling which initially meant three years imprisonment was later changed to 34 years, leading to a outcry amongst human rights organisations.

Quite a few Middle Eastern nations have had issues with free speech, especially those that goes against the religious sentiments of the country. This has been termed as the longest sentence ever awarded to a peaceful activist by the Kingdom. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said: "Shehab's religious identity as a Shi'a Muslim is believed to have been a factor in her arrest and harsh sentencing."

Meanwhile, the Berlin-based European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) described Shehab as “a specialist in oral and dental medicine, a PhD student at the University of Leeds, UK, and a lecturer at Princess Nourah University,” who is married and has two young sons. She was arrested on January 15, 2021, days before she was scheduled to return to the UK, said reports.

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