The Saudi authorities continue to target women activists systematically as part of their ongoing policies, which they have pursued increasingly over the past years. This includes curtailing free speech, including any mention of human rights violations by the authorities, and notably targeting women human rights defenders, including journalists and Internet activists. They are often imprisoned after unfair trials that fail to meet international standards. The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) calls for the immediate release of all women imprisoned for their right to freedom of expression, and for the Saudi authorities to respect women’s rights.
Woman human rights defender Manahel Al-Otaibi
On 26 July 2023, the Specialised Criminal Court in Riyadh held a hearing as part of its trial against Internet activist and online fitness trainer Manahel Al-Otaibi (main photo), and decided to postpone the trial to an unknown date.
Manahel Al-Otaibi is 29 years old, and who suffers from multiple sclerosis, uses social media to defend the rights of women in the country.
On 16 November 2022, she was arrested, and several charges were brought against her, including “adopting the hashtag #SocietyIsReady”, through which she calls for “liberation and the overthrow of the guardianship [system]”, “having a Snapchat account that includes the same content”, another charge listed in a letter from the district police chief of Riyadh indicates that what she publishes on her Twitter account is against the Guardianship system, and challenging the judiciary and its justice, in addition to going to the markets without wearing the abaya, photographing it and publishing it via Snapchat.
In January 2023, the Criminal Court in Riyadh charged her with “publishing content that violates public order and public morals.” However, the Court decided that it had no jurisdiction to consider the case and referred it to the Specialised Criminal Court (Terrorism Court), which was established in January 2008 to hear the cases of those accused of terrorism, but has often been used as a tool to imprison human rights defenders, often issuing heavy sentences.
On 03 November 2022, Manahel Al-Otaibi posted her last tweet on her Twitter account, talking about empowerment. She wrote, “Truly great leaders are not those people who excel in selecting the successful thinkers and innovators to be empowered according to their achievements only! Rather, they are those who are able to create an infinite number of successful, creative and outstanding people in several fields, by refining and developing their skills and advancing them towards empowerment.”
Human rights defenders Fawzia Al-Otaibi and Maryam Al-Otaibi
Fawzia and Maryam are the two sisters of Manahel Al-Otaibi, and all three of them have been subjected to the repression of the Saudi authorities, which changed the course of their lives.
On 02 August 2023, Internet activist Fawzia Al-Otaibi tweeted, “Maryam, my sister, has been banned from traveling for more than 4 years, despite her lack of precedents. Literally, I began to feel that we are not a state, there is no justice, and no one cares about the injustice that befalls citizens.”
Maryam Al-Otaibi is a woman human rights defender who has been banned from traveling due to her peaceful activism in defense of women’s rights on social media, in particular on her Twitter account.
On 03 February 2023, Maryam Al-Otaibi tweeted, “I consider my current life as just a waiting station, and God willing, after I travel, my actual life will begin.”
On 04 August 2023, Fawzia Al-Otaibi tweeted, “Why did you intimidate me with all kinds of terrorism in my joy in supporting Loujain Al-Hathloul, when I am sure that she is a hero? You have made a fearless woman out of the intensity of your terror.”
Fawzia Al-Otaibi, who is currently residing in the United Kingdom, explained in her tweets how the authorities would have arrested her had she not flown out of the country in time, and confirmed that she had received death threats for continuing to use social media to defend the civil and human rights of her two sisters as well as all women in Saudi Arabia.
GCHR had previously documented the arrest of Maryam Al-Otaibi on 19 April 2017, after her father filed a complaint against her for being absent from the house, using the Guardianship system, after she decided to move to the capital, Riyadh, to work there and lead an independent life. She was not released until 31 July 2017 after spending more than 100 days in prison.
Journalist Rania Al-Assal
Informed sources confirmed to GCHR that on 11 February 2023, the Saudi security forces arrested Egyptian journalist Rania Al-Assal while she was performing Umrah pilgrimage in Mecca. Al-Assal has been prevented from contacting her family or hiring a lawyer so far.
The same sources added that the reason for her arrest was the use of her Twitter account to criticise the Saudi government.
Human rights defender Fatima Al-Shawarbi
In May 2023, the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal issued a 30-year and 6-month prison sentence against human rights defender Fatima Al-Shawarbi, and banned her from traveling for a similar period after completing her sentence. She was found guilty of using an anonymous Twitter account in order to defend prisoners of conscience and women’s rights as well as highlight unemployment. Other press reports stated that they used the same account to highlight the issue of the Al-Huwaitat tribe, whose members were forcibly displaced for the Neom city project in the Tabuk province, which is a top priority for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Al-Shawarbi, who is from Al-Ahsa Governorate was arrested in September 2020, and has since been placed in the General Investigation Prison in Dammam.
Human rights defender Fatima Al-Nassif
On 01 July 2023, human rights defender Fatima Al-Nassif was released after she had spent nearly six years in prison.
GCHR documented the arbitrary arrest of Al-Nassif, who worked as a nurse and lives in the town of Al-Awamiya in Qatif. On 05 September 2017, she was violently arrested while with her two daughters on her way to Qatif airport. She was arrested for defending the civil and human rights of prisoners of conscience, including her two brothers who are detained due to their participation in protests in the eastern region. In addition, she was detained for bandaging the injured at a peaceful protest.
Recommendations
GCHR calls on the Saudi authorities to:
- Immediately and unconditionally release all women human rights defenders and online activists and drop all charges against them;
- Immediately stop targeting women human rights defenders and online activists; and
- Ensure that all human rights defenders and Internet activists in Saudi Arabia who carry out their legitimate work in defense of human rights are able to work without facing restrictions and harassment, including judicial harassment.
