human rights defender
Salma Al-Shehab
Actions and Campaigns
Salma Al-Shehab
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER
HRD's year of birth
1988
HRD's Gender
Woman
Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Women's rights
Current Status
Released
HRD's bio and work
Salma Al-Shehab is a Leeds University PhD student in her final year, dental hygienist, and mother of two. She was a lecturer at Princess Nourah University in Riyadh. In her PhD, she was conducting exploratorv research about new techniques in oral and dental medicine and their application in Saudi Arabia. Al-Shehab was active on social Media, especially Twitter, participating in campaigns advocating for the end of Saudi Arabia's guardianship system, expressing solidarity with women's rights activists, like Loujain Al-Hathloul, and calling for the release of Saudi prisoners of conscience. She was arrested in Saudi Arabia in January 2021 while on vacation, shortly before she planned to return to her home in the United Kingdom.
Al-Shehab belongs to the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia.
Detained since
Jan 15, 2021
Date of release
Feb 10, 2025
Charge(s)
- Spreading fake news
- Terrorism
Sentence
27 years in prison, reduced to 4 years on appeal
Latitude: 26.385134731158157
Longitude: 50.06182201395527
Geolocation of detention
Country or area of detention
Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
Location of detention - City/Town
Dammam
Location of detention - Facility
Al-Mabahith prison
Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Salma Al-Shehab was subjected to ill-treatment during her arrest and for long hours of daily investigation over a period of nine and a half months. Al-Shehab has reportedly been subjected to solitary confinement and verbal abuse on the basis of her religion while in prison. During trial, she was not allowed to hire a lawyer throughout. She has also been denied family visits.
In mid-2023, it was reported that Salma Al-Shehab has been placed alongside inmates transferred from a psychiatric hospital who experience violent episodes because of a lack of adequate medical care. She has appealed to the official Saudi Human Rights Commission for these inmates to be held separately and receive adequate treatment.
In May 2023, it was reported that Al-Shehab’s husband had filed for divorce. The background to this development was not clear, but human rights groups are aware of cases in the past where the Saudi authorities have coerced spouses and family members of imprisoned human rights defenders to divorce or disown them.
In 2024, Al-Shehab and seven other detained Saudi women have gone on a hunger strike in protest against their unjust detention and trial, and to demand their immediate and unconditional release. She ended her hunger strike a month later in order to be able to take medication for her deteriorating mental and physical health.
Recent case update / evolution
In late 2021, the initial ruling against Shehab gave her six years in prison. When she appealed, however, on 9 August, 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal resentenced Al-Shehab to 34 years in prison, followed by a 34-year travel ban. It was decided that her prison sentence was too short considering her crimes, and that her previous sentence failed to achieve restraint and deterrence. On January 18, 2023, the Supreme Court reportedly cancelled Al-Shehab's sentence and ordered a retrial. On January 25, 2023, the SCC resentenced Al-Shehab to 27 years in prison after dropping her prior charge under the Combatting Cyber Crimes Law. She was charged with spreading propaganda and false or misleading ideas, information, or materials, using a social media website to disrupt public order, undermine the security of society and stability of the state, and support those who had committed criminal actions according to the counterterrorism law and its financing. She was charged for terrorism-related offenses including, supporting and promoting terrorism (Art. 34 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), aiding and abetting terrorists or a terrorist entity (Art. 38 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), using the internet or electronic devices to conduct terrorist activities (Art. 43 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), spreading false rumors or information with the intent to commit terrorism (Art. 44 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), sending items that would prejudice public order (Art. 6 Law on Combatting Cyber Crimes), and other crimes.
On 25 September 2024, her sentence was reportedly reduced on appeal from 27 years to four years in prison prior to her release.
On 10 February 2025, she was released after spending four years in prison.
Any other relevant documents
https://www.gc4hr.org/salma-al-shehab-released-after-four-years-in-prison-among-hundreds-of-prisoners-for-posts-on-x/
Attachments
Documented by
- Country(ies) of nationality
- HRD's year of birth
- 1988
- HRD's Gender
- Woman
- Type of HRD
- Journalist/Blogger
- HRD's thematic area of engagement
- Civil and political rights
- Women's rights
- HRD's Picture
- HRD's bio and work
Salma Al-Shehab is a Leeds University PhD student in her final year, dental hygienist, and mother of two. She was a lecturer at Princess Nourah University in Riyadh. In her PhD, she was conducting exploratorv research about new techniques in oral and dental medicine and their application in Saudi Arabia. Al-Shehab was active on social Media, especially Twitter, participating in campaigns advocating for the end of Saudi Arabia's guardianship system, expressing solidarity with women's rights activists, like Loujain Al-Hathloul, and calling for the release of Saudi prisoners of conscience. She was arrested in Saudi Arabia in January 2021 while on vacation, shortly before she planned to return to her home in the United Kingdom.
Al-Shehab belongs to the Shiite minority in Saudi Arabia.
- Country or area of detention
- Region of detention
- Asia: Western Asia
- Location of detention - City/Town
- Dammam
- Location of detention - Facility
- Al-Mabahith prison
- Geolocation of detention
Latitude: 26.385134731158157
Longitude: 50.06182201395527
- Geolocation of detention
- Detained since
- Jan 15, 2021
- Current Status
- Released
- Date of release
- Feb 10, 2025
- Charge(s)
- Spreading fake news
- Terrorism
- Sentence
27 years in prison, reduced to 4 years on appeal
- Recent case update / evolution
In late 2021, the initial ruling against Shehab gave her six years in prison. When she appealed, however, on 9 August, 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal resentenced Al-Shehab to 34 years in prison, followed by a 34-year travel ban. It was decided that her prison sentence was too short considering her crimes, and that her previous sentence failed to achieve restraint and deterrence. On January 18, 2023, the Supreme Court reportedly cancelled Al-Shehab's sentence and ordered a retrial. On January 25, 2023, the SCC resentenced Al-Shehab to 27 years in prison after dropping her prior charge under the Combatting Cyber Crimes Law. She was charged with spreading propaganda and false or misleading ideas, information, or materials, using a social media website to disrupt public order, undermine the security of society and stability of the state, and support those who had committed criminal actions according to the counterterrorism law and its financing. She was charged for terrorism-related offenses including, supporting and promoting terrorism (Art. 34 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), aiding and abetting terrorists or a terrorist entity (Art. 38 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), using the internet or electronic devices to conduct terrorist activities (Art. 43 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), spreading false rumors or information with the intent to commit terrorism (Art. 44 Law on Combatting Terrorism Crimes and Its Financing), sending items that would prejudice public order (Art. 6 Law on Combatting Cyber Crimes), and other crimes.
On 25 September 2024, her sentence was reportedly reduced on appeal from 27 years to four years in prison prior to her release.
On 10 February 2025, she was released after spending four years in prison.
- Allegations / reports of ill-treatment
Salma Al-Shehab was subjected to ill-treatment during her arrest and for long hours of daily investigation over a period of nine and a half months. Al-Shehab has reportedly been subjected to solitary confinement and verbal abuse on the basis of her religion while in prison. During trial, she was not allowed to hire a lawyer throughout. She has also been denied family visits.
In mid-2023, it was reported that Salma Al-Shehab has been placed alongside inmates transferred from a psychiatric hospital who experience violent episodes because of a lack of adequate medical care. She has appealed to the official Saudi Human Rights Commission for these inmates to be held separately and receive adequate treatment.
In May 2023, it was reported that Al-Shehab’s husband had filed for divorce. The background to this development was not clear, but human rights groups are aware of cases in the past where the Saudi authorities have coerced spouses and family members of imprisoned human rights defenders to divorce or disown them.
In 2024, Al-Shehab and seven other detained Saudi women have gone on a hunger strike in protest against their unjust detention and trial, and to demand their immediate and unconditional release. She ended her hunger strike a month later in order to be able to take medication for her deteriorating mental and physical health.
- Protection actions and campaigns
- Any other relevant documents
https://www.gc4hr.org/salma-al-shehab-released-after-four-years-in-prison-among-hundreds-of-prisoners-for-posts-on-x/
- Documented by
- Consent status
- Consent to register, store and publish the information
Supporting files
sorted by
Date added
8 relationships, 7 entities