human rights defender
Manahel Al-Otaibi
Actions and Campaigns
Manahel Al-Otaibi
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
Urgent support needed
Manahel Al-Otaibi has been denied medical visits necessary to address her previous injuries.
HRD's year of birth
1994
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Women's rights
HRD's geographical origin
Urban
Current Status
In prison (sentenced)
HRD's bio and work
Manahel Nasser Al-Otaibi is a Saudi fitness instructor and blogger residing in Riyadh who was vocal about female empowerment on her social media platforms. Prior to her arrest, Al-Otaibi was active on Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram where she shared fitness videos as well as peaceful posts advocating for liberal dress codes for women, LGBTQ+ rights and the abolition of male guardianship. She was particularly vocal about violations of the fundamental rights of women within the kingdom, notably using hashtags that translate to #societyisready and #abolishguardianship to call for reform of the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia. Al-Otaibi also once walked in the streets of Riyadh to go to the market without wearing an abaya nor a hijab.
Detained since
Nov 16, 2022
Charge(s)
- Terrorism
Sentence
5 YEARS in prison (followed by 5-year travel ban)
Latitude: 24.68354
Longitude: 46.73817
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
Location of detention - City/Town
Riyadh
Location of detention - Facility
Al-Malaz Prison
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Al-Otaibi has been subjected to sexual harassment and various forms of abuse while in detention.
On 16 November 2022, Al-Otaibi was summoned for interrogation at the Al-Sahafa police station in Riyadh, where she was mainly questioned about her social media activity regarding women’s rights and her outings without proper clothing. During her interrogation, she was not provided with an attorney, nor was she informed of the charges against her. After her questioning, the police officers did not permit al-Otaibi to go back home, and instead transferred her to Al-Malaz prison in Riyadh without an arrest warrant.
On 18 January 2023, she appeared before the Criminal Court of Riyadh. The judge dismissed her case and transferred it to the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) which has exclusive jurisdiction over crimes falling under the 2017 Anti-Terrorism Law. Additionally, during court proceedings, she did not have legal counselling, because her lawyers were unable to properly communicate with the authorities.
Since the beginning of her detention in al-Malaz prison in Riyadh, Al-Otaibi has been subjected to various forms of physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, bites, and death threats. She remained unheard of until April 2024 when she called a member of her family and informed them that she is being held in inhumane conditions in solitary confinement. She reported an incident where an inmate who was let inside her cell beat her severely, to the point where she couldn’t walk. She told her family that when she complained to the prison authorities, they found both the perpetrator and Al-Otaibi herself guilty and placed her in solitary confinement for weeks while denying her any medical attention. Afterwards, she said that she was allowed to receive medical attention, but then was subjected to another attack by a group of women inmates who entered her cell and abused her sexually.
On 29 September 2024, Al-Otaibi contacted her family and told them she was attacked in the face and received stitches for the wound two weeks previously. She said that a fellow inmate whom she does not know attacked her with a sharp pen. After the attack, Al-Otaibi was held in solitary confinement.
Recent case update / evolution
On 09 January 2024, Manahel Al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a secret hearing before the Specialised Criminal Court as a result of violating the Anti-Cyber Crime Law for tweeting hashtags in support of women’s rights and posting photos on Snapchat of herself at the mall wearing “immodest” clothing. Manahel Al-Otaibi was found guilty of “terrorist offenses” under articles 43 and 44 of the kingdom’s Counter Terrorism Law, criminalizing “any person who creates, launches, or uses a website or a program on a computer or on an electronic device, or to publish information on the manufacture of incendiary devices, explosives, or any other devices used in terrorist crimes“, as well as “any person who, by any means, broadcasts or publishes news, statements, false or malicious rumors, or the like for committing a terrorist crime”.
On 3 November 2024, the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal confirms and upholds the 11-year prison sentence against Al-Otaibi.
At a hearing on 21 August 2025, the SCC overturned Al-Otaibi’s 11-year jail term but handed down a new five-year sentence (followed by a five-year travel ban). With time served, she will not be freed until 2027.
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's year of birth
- 1994
- HRD's Gender
- Woman
- Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Women's rights
- HRD's Picture
- HRD's bio and work
Manahel Nasser Al-Otaibi is a Saudi fitness instructor and blogger residing in Riyadh who was vocal about female empowerment on her social media platforms. Prior to her arrest, Al-Otaibi was active on Snapchat, Twitter, and Instagram where she shared fitness videos as well as peaceful posts advocating for liberal dress codes for women, LGBTQ+ rights and the abolition of male guardianship. She was particularly vocal about violations of the fundamental rights of women within the kingdom, notably using hashtags that translate to #societyisready and #abolishguardianship to call for reform of the male guardianship system in Saudi Arabia. Al-Otaibi also once walked in the streets of Riyadh to go to the market without wearing an abaya nor a hijab.
- HRD's geographical origin
- Urban
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
- Location of detention - City/Town
- Riyadh
- Location of detention - Facility
- Al-Malaz Prison
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 24.68354
Longitude: 46.73817
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Nov 16, 2022
- Current Status
- In prison (sentenced)
- Charge(s)
- Terrorism
- Sentence
5 YEARS in prison (followed by 5-year travel ban)
- Recent case update / evolution
On 09 January 2024, Manahel Al-Otaibi was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a secret hearing before the Specialised Criminal Court as a result of violating the Anti-Cyber Crime Law for tweeting hashtags in support of women’s rights and posting photos on Snapchat of herself at the mall wearing “immodest” clothing. Manahel Al-Otaibi was found guilty of “terrorist offenses” under articles 43 and 44 of the kingdom’s Counter Terrorism Law, criminalizing “any person who creates, launches, or uses a website or a program on a computer or on an electronic device, or to publish information on the manufacture of incendiary devices, explosives, or any other devices used in terrorist crimes“, as well as “any person who, by any means, broadcasts or publishes news, statements, false or malicious rumors, or the like for committing a terrorist crime”.
On 3 November 2024, the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal confirms and upholds the 11-year prison sentence against Al-Otaibi.
At a hearing on 21 August 2025, the SCC overturned Al-Otaibi’s 11-year jail term but handed down a new five-year sentence (followed by a five-year travel ban). With time served, she will not be freed until 2027.
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Al-Otaibi has been subjected to sexual harassment and various forms of abuse while in detention.
On 16 November 2022, Al-Otaibi was summoned for interrogation at the Al-Sahafa police station in Riyadh, where she was mainly questioned about her social media activity regarding women’s rights and her outings without proper clothing. During her interrogation, she was not provided with an attorney, nor was she informed of the charges against her. After her questioning, the police officers did not permit al-Otaibi to go back home, and instead transferred her to Al-Malaz prison in Riyadh without an arrest warrant.
On 18 January 2023, she appeared before the Criminal Court of Riyadh. The judge dismissed her case and transferred it to the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) which has exclusive jurisdiction over crimes falling under the 2017 Anti-Terrorism Law. Additionally, during court proceedings, she did not have legal counselling, because her lawyers were unable to properly communicate with the authorities.
Since the beginning of her detention in al-Malaz prison in Riyadh, Al-Otaibi has been subjected to various forms of physical and psychological abuse, including beatings, bites, and death threats. She remained unheard of until April 2024 when she called a member of her family and informed them that she is being held in inhumane conditions in solitary confinement. She reported an incident where an inmate who was let inside her cell beat her severely, to the point where she couldn’t walk. She told her family that when she complained to the prison authorities, they found both the perpetrator and Al-Otaibi herself guilty and placed her in solitary confinement for weeks while denying her any medical attention. Afterwards, she said that she was allowed to receive medical attention, but then was subjected to another attack by a group of women inmates who entered her cell and abused her sexually.
On 29 September 2024, Al-Otaibi contacted her family and told them she was attacked in the face and received stitches for the wound two weeks previously. She said that a fellow inmate whom she does not know attacked her with a sharp pen. After the attack, Al-Otaibi was held in solitary confinement.
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Urgent support needed
Manahel Al-Otaibi has been denied medical visits necessary to address her previous injuries.
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
sorted by
Date added
8 relationships, 7 entities