A Saudi special court for terror crimes has sentenced Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani to 45 years for “production and storage of material influencing public order and religious values”. The “crime” of women: a few tweets critical of the regime. With these, she is said to have used “the Internet” to tear up the social fabric of Saudi Arabia, says the Terrorism Court.

As recently as August 9, Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Terrorism Court of Appeal multiplied the prison sentence for 34-year-old dental hygienist and mother-of-two Salma al-Shehab from eight to 34 years. A few retweets were fatal to her. The Court of Appeal found that eight years in prison was insufficient for “inhibition and deterrence”. If al-Shehab survives 34 years in a Saudi prison, the woman will not be allowed to leave the country for another 34 years. So she must remain in the monarchy for life.

The human rights organization DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now) is now reporting on both verdicts. DAWN was founded by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi (Jamal Khaschukji). At a Saudi consulate in Turkey, Saudi Arabian agents tortured and murdered Khashoggi in 2018.

DAWN: Biden’s visit emboldens oppressors

“The 45-year sentence against al-Qahtani, apparently for simple expressions of opinion on Twitter, and just weeks after the shocking 34-year sentence against Salma al-Shehab, shows how emboldened the Saudi authorities feel that they even punish the mildest citizen criticism,” writes DAWN researcher Abdullah Alaoudh. US President Joe Biden’s visit to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah in July encouraged the Saudi authorities to intensify their repressive attacks on critics.

A 2020 Amnesty International investigation shows that the Saudi special court has been used to quash criticism since 2011. Again and again it imposes the most severe penalties on pure expressions of opinion and peaceful assemblies. It has even imposed several death sentences on juvenile “perpetrators” who are Shia Muslims. Shias are a religious minority in Saudi Arabia.

Rubber paragraphs are hard sticks

These court decisions are made possible by two particularly general Saudi laws: A computer criminal law punishes, among other things, the preparation or storage of material that could influence public order, religious values ​​or public morals. And the Anti-Terror Law itself defines “disturbing public order” or “insulting the reputation of the state or its positions” as terrorism.

This undermines basic rights even before the verdict: Actually, the accused can be held in Saudi detention for a maximum of six months before their trial. However, in the case of terrorism allegations, indefinite detention without trial is permitted. Al-Shehab, a student in the UK, was arrested while on home leave in Saudi Arabia in early 2015 and held in solitary confinement for 285 days, during which time she was repeatedly subjected to lengthy interrogations. After that, she had to wait another ten months for the terror court’s verdict.

Alaoudh accuses Saudi Arabia of abuse of rights, adding: “But that’s only half the story, because even the Crown Prince would not allow such vengeful and excessive judgments if he had to expect serious criticism from the US or other Western governments.”

Four days before her arrest, al-Shehab celebrated her son Adam’s fifth birthday on Twitter:

(ds)