Saudi Women's Rights Activist Handed 11-Year Prison Term
After secretly sentencing a young Saudi woman to eleven years in prison, an anti-terrorism court cited "her choice of clothing and support for women's rights" as the grounds for her incarceration.
Manahel al-Otaibi was found guilty of what the Saudi government referred to as "terrorist offences" on January 9th, according to a statement that Saudi officials issued to the UN high commissioner for human rights.
A Saudi anti-terror law makes it illegal to use websites to "broadcasts or publish news, statements, false or malicious rumours, or the like for committing a terrorist crime." Al-Otaibi was found guilty of charges related to this law during a secret hearing before the counter-terrorism court.
In November 2022, authorities detained Al-Otaibi, a trained fitness instructor and artist who advocated for women's emancipation through her various social media platforms.
Saudi authorities have accused Otaibi of several things, including using the hashtag #societyisready to demand an end to male guardianship regulations. Fouz al-Otaibi, her sister, was just as accused of not dressing decently, but she managed to escape Saudi Arabia before she was arrested.
In 2017, after being jailed and incarcerated for defying guardianship restrictions, Maryam, another sister, became a well-known advocate for women's rights.
Along with ALQST, a rights organisation, Amnesty International demanded that the Saudi government free al-Otaibi without condition, stating that her detention "directly contradicts authorities' narrative of reform and women's empowerment."
Amnesty International's campaigner on Saudi Arabia, Bissan Fakih, stated that the Saudi authorities have shown their frightening dedication to repressing peaceful dissent and exposed the hollowness of their much-touted women's rights reforms in recent years with this sentencing.
Both ALQST and Amnesty International highlighted an irony in Al-Otaibi's story: in 2019, the activist claimed that she felt empowered to speak her mind and wear whatever she liked because of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's proclamations regarding "radical changes," such as the purported easing of the dress code for women. Some time later, she was taken into custody.
In her X and Snapchat profiles, Otaibi promoted women's rights and depicted herself as a young, artistic, yoga-loving, travel-loving woman.
From the time of her forced absence for five months, beginning in November 2023 and ending in April 2024, rights groups claim that al-Otaibi has been a victim of severe abuse. After reestablishing contact with her loved ones, she revealed that she had been physically abused while in solitary confinement and had broken her leg as a result. The allegations were disputed by Saudi officials.
She is the latest in a long line of Saudi women who have faced harsh punishments for expressing themselves on social media. Some of the women included in this group have received lengthy prison terms; some have received 27 years, 30 years, 40 years, and 45 years, respectively, for their crimes.