Latest news with #Alqst
Middle East Eye
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Concern for Saudi woman held in solitary confinement since February
Human rights groups have called on the Saudi authorities to immediately release a 51-year-old mother of five who has been held in solitary confinement since February. Ten NGOs, including Alqst, Dawn and Human Rights Watch, issued a statement on Thursday raising the alarm about the detention of Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani, highlighting that her health has rapidly deteriorated in custody. Qahtani, who's disabled daughter relies heavily on her care, was handed a 45-year prison sentence by the notorious Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) in August 2022 for her social media activity, which was deemed to be critical of the authorities. The NGOs' statement described the punishment as a 'travesty of justice", and said Qahtani's prolonged solitary confinement is "a violation of the absolute prohibition on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment". "Noura al-Qahtani has now suffered this gross violation of her rights for more than two months," they said. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters According to Mena Rights Group, before her arrest in July 2021, Qahtani used two anonymous accounts to advocate for the release of political prisoners and criticise rights abuses by the Saudi authorities. She was initially sentenced to 13 years in prison in February 2022, with half the sentence suspended. Saudi Arabia executes its 100th prisoner so far this year Read More » But later that year, the SCC upheld the initial ruling and piled on more charges including 'preparing, sending and storing information, through the internet, seeking to harm public order' and 'seeking to disturb the social fabric, national unity, the societal cohesion and basic laws', extending her sentence to 45 years. Following a retrial in September 2024, the sentence was reduced to 35 years in prison along with a 35-year travel ban. In June 2023, a complaint submitted by NGOs prompted the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to adopt an opinion stating that Qahtani's detention is arbitrary and constitutes a human rights violation. "At a time when some Saudi prisoners of conscience are being belatedly released - albeit under heavy restrictions - Nourah's plight is a stark reminder of the many who remain cruelly detained, and even face further repressive measures," Alqst's Nadyeen Abdulaziz told Middle East Eye. "Her ongoing detention, which UN experts have deemed arbitrary, is a stain on the Saudi authorities' dire human rights record. She must be released and reunited with her five children immediately." The NGOs said that her case highlights the Saudi authorities' commitment to a 'relentless crackdown on peaceful dissent and harsh treatment of targeted prisoners', subjecting them to solitary confinement, incommunicado detention and forcible disappearance. It further noted that Qahtani is one of many women activists subjected to violations in Saudi prisons, contradicting the kingdom's attempts to whitewash its record on women's rights.
Middle East Eye
10-02-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
UK student Salma al-Shehab released from Saudi prison, say campaigners
Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University doctoral candidate who was handed a decades-long sentence for her tweets in 2022, has been released from a Saudi prison, human rights groups and advocates have reported. The 36-year-old women's rights activist and mother of two sons was arrested in January 2021 during a family holiday in the kingdom's Eastern Province. Rights groups say Shehab was held for nearly 10 months in solitary confinement and interrogated at length before she was brought to trial and convicted for following and retweeting dissidents and activists on Twitter, the social media platform now known as X. She was originally sentenced to six years imprisonment in March 2022, but her sentence was drastically increased six months later during an appeal to 34 years in prison, plus a 34-year travel ban, drawing international criticism of the Saudi government. In January 2023, her sentence was reduced to 27 years, and then again reduced during a retrial last September to four years, with a four-year suspension. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The UK-based human rights group Alqst, which has documented Shehab's case and advocated for her freedom, said on Monday that she had been held arbitrarily for four years "on the basis of her peaceful activism". 'Her full freedom must now be granted, including the right to travel to complete her studies' - Alqst statement "Her full freedom must now be granted, including the right to travel to complete her studies," the organisation said. Alqst and other groups published an open letter last month welcoming the decision by the Saudi court to reduce Shehab's sentence in September, calling it a "significant step to correct a gross miscarriage of justice". In 2023, Shehab and seven other women went on a hunger strike to protest against their imprisonment and calling for their release. The rights groups say Shehab's health had deteriorated while behind bars. Middle East Eye has asked the UK Foreign Office for comment.
Middle East Eye
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
UN admits internet conference panel was edited after Saudi complaint
United Nations officials have acknowledged that a recording of a panel discussion featuring human rights organisations at a conference in Riyadh was edited following a complaint from the Saudi government. The UN's Internet Governance Forum (IGF) was accused by Human Rights Watch on Thursday of censoring critical comments made by Saudi Arabian activist Lina al-Hathloul during the event at IGF's conference in the Saudi capital in December. Asked whether the IGF had been prompted to act by Saudi Arabia, an IGF spokesperson told Middle East Eye it had 'received a request from the host nation' regarding an alleged violation of its code of conduct. The spokesperson said it was standard procedure that the host 'may raise concerns about adherence to rules agreed upon by all participants'. 'The Secretariat's role in such cases is to review the concerns in an impartial manner, engage with the concerned party, and seek a solution that adheres to the IGF's commitment to multistakeholder dialogue.' New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters The involvement of Human Rights Watch and Alqst - a UK-based organisation that campaigns for human rights in Saudi Arabia - in the IGF's conference in Riyadh was considered significant because of the kingdom's repressive track record. Hathloul, Alqst's head of advocacy, spoke remotely at the panel event co-hosted by HRW and Alqst because of concerns for her safety. But last month, the IGF published an edited version of the panel on YouTube in which significant portions of Hathloul's comments as well as a moment of silence for human rights defenders punished for expressing themselves online, including several held in Saudi Arabia's prisons, were removed. In their place was a note saying they had been removed for violating the IGF's code of conduct, particularly a section in which participants are asked to focus remarks on issues rather than on 'individuals, groups, organisations or governments, and to refrain from personal or ad hominem attacks'. The comments that now appear where many of Lina al-Hathloul's remarks were made during the 16 December panel at the UN IGF in Riyadh (YouTube) HRW also said that UN officials told Joey Shea, the organisation's Saudi Arabia researcher who moderated the panel, that the Saudi government had complained and asked the UN to revoke her accreditation for the conference. The officials referred to an HRW video that cited the case of imprisoned retired Saudi Arabian teacher Mohammed al-Ghamdi "as the basis of the host country's complaint", and also said that Shea's naming of specific human rights defenders during the panel might have constituted a code of conduct violation. Saudi Arabia plans to execute Shia youths on charges UN deems 'arbitrary' Read More » The UN officials told Shea they would discuss whether to revoke her accreditation badge with UN headquarters in New York, HRW said. Her badge was ultimately not revoked. HRW has said that Shea's mention of specific detained human rights activists did not comprise a 'personal or ad hominem attack' and that she did not mention which governments had imprisoned the activists. The UN IGF noted on Friday that it had 'responded to an infringement' of its code of conduct by speaking with the civil society organisation representative concerned 'and arriving at a mutually agreed solution'. 'No retaliation in any form occurred. The secretariat's actions were taken to uphold the spirit of the rules, which is to foster democratic, multistakeholder discussions,' a spokesperson said. The spokesperson also said that the IGF remained 'dedicated to creating a forum where diverse perspectives, including those of civil society organisations, are respected and heard'. 'The presence and active participation of human rights organisations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, who were likely present in a major meeting setting in Saudi Arabia for the first time, reflect the IGF's broad commitment to these values.'
