Women’s rights activist, imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for over two years, he was sentenced to serve 11 years after she was prosecuted for “terrorism”, two non-governmental organizations complained yesterday Tuesday.

According to London-based Amnesty International and ALQST, Manahel al-Otaibi, 29, was sentenced on January 9 to 11 years in prison during a trial held “in secret”.

The verdict was not revealed until weeks later, “in the Saudi government’s official response to the request for information submitted by United Nations special rapporteurs on her case,” the two NGOs said in a joint statement released.

The charges against her “relate exclusively to her clothing choices and the expression of her opinions on the Internet, in particular the fact that she had called through social networking sites to end the system of male guardianship in Saudi Arabia,” the text emphasizes.

She was also prosecuted for posting videos in which she “wore ‘indecent clothing’ and went ‘to shops without wearing the abaya,'” a traditional long dress that covers the entire body.

Saudi Arabia’s response to the UN, dated January 24 and seen by AFP yesterday, said Ms Otaibi was “convicted of breaches of terrorism legislation” which had “nothing to do with the exercise of freedom of opinion and expression”. expression or postings on social networking sites’.

“Shocked”

The document does not go into detail about the “terrorist” activities it refers to.

When contacted by AFP, the Saudi government said it would not comment at this time.

In February, Amnesty reported the “enforced disappearance” of Ms. Otaibi, who lost contact with her family from November 2023 to mid-April.

Her older sister, Foz al-Otaibi, who has 2.5 million followers on the social networking site Snapchat, “faces similar charges but has fled Saudi Arabia for fear of arrest after being summoned for questioning in 2022 “, the NGO added.

Her sister told AFP on Tuesday that the family did not learn Manahel had been sentenced to 11 years in prison until the Saudi authorities’ response to the UN.

“I am deeply shocked,” she added.

“Saudi authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Manahel al-Otaibi and all persons imprisoned in the kingdom for peacefully exercising their human rights,” said ALQST official Lina al-Hathloul.

Saudi Arabia has been identified for decades with the oppression of women.

Although some restrictions, such as the ban on driving and the obligation to wear the abaya, have now been lifted, human rights defenders stress that the 2022 law still provides for many discriminations against women in the kingdom.