The Saudi Arabia justice sentenced to 11 years in prison Manahel al-Otaibi, a young 29-year-old fitness instructor. According to the letter addressed to the United Nations by the Saudi authorities, the woman was sentenced for alleged “terrorism crimes“.
The woman had been arrested in November 2022. From different human rights organizationsthey assured that the woman was convicted of show up without abaya (mandatory upper garment) and request to end the guardianship system that forces women to have a male tutor through their social networks.
In their letter to the United Nations, Saudi diplomats confirmed the sentence of al-Otaibi who had been prosecuted for “terrorism crimes.” However, the document He did not provide more details of the dimension of these crimes.
In principle, the country’s Justice assured that the sentence had nothing to do with the instructor’s online activity. However, since amnesty international and ALQSTa London-based group that advocates for human rights in Saudi Arabia, said that the Justice accusations were “related solely to his choice of clothes and the expressing your views onlineincluding calling on social media for the end of Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system, posting videos of herself wearing ‘indecent clothing’ and ‘going to shops without wearing an abaya’”.
Al-Otaibi She was active on social media and posted fitness videos on Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Since November 2022, the young woman He faced charges of “defaming the kingdom at home and abroad, calling for rebellion against public order and the traditions and customs of society, and defying the judiciary and its justice.”according to judicial documents of the case.
In his posts, al-Otabi defended the liberal dress codes for womenthe LGBTQ+ rights and the abolition of male guardianship laws from Saudi Arabia. In the ruling document, Saudi Arabia’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva did not describe any of the evidence that al-Otaibi was sentenced and said that they had been done “unfounded and uncorroborated accusations and statements” about his case.
Manahel al-Otaibi had been arrested on November 16, 2022. His case has since been referred to the Specialized Criminal Court of Saudi Arabia.
After more than 1 year in arrest, last January 9th The court published the ruling in which sentenced to 11 years of prison to the woman. However, the verdict was only revealed in the Saudi mission document sent, the January 25 to the UN Human Rights Office.
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Reuters
According to the trial, the young woman had violated the Articles 43 and 44 of the Saudi Anti-Terrorism Law. These laws provide sentences for “any person who creates, launches or uses a website or program on a computer or electronic device to commit a terrorist crime“, and “any person who, by any means, transmits or publishes news, statements, false or malicious rumorsor similar, for the commission of a terrorist crime”.
The official document also ensures that the court “verified all the evidence“against the accused, “fully respecting the international obligations of Saudi Arabia“In addition, the letter assured that it is unacceptable to “justify terrorist actions by describing them as the exercise or defense of rights” and that it also constitutes an “attempt to legitimize the terrorist crimes“.
However, different human rights groups They criticized the trial carried out by the Saudi Justice. The head of advocacy and activism at ALQST, Lina Alhathloulassured that the “scandalous sentence“exposes”the arbitrary and contradictory nature” of the reforms of the Saudi authorities, in addition to showing “their continued determination to control the women of Saudi Arabia“.
Source: Ambito
