Saudi women’s rights activist sentenced to 11 years in jail, rights groups say

Human rights groups are calling for the release of a Saudi woman, who they say has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women’s rights and for the way she dressed.

Human rights groups are calling for the release of a Saudi woman, who they say has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for supporting women’s rights and for the way she dressed. Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, was sentenced during a “secret hearing” before the kingdom’s Specialized Criminal Court on January 9, 2024, Amnesty International and the London-based Saudi rights organization ALQST said in a joint statement Tuesday. However, the decision to imprison al-Otaibi only surfaced weeks later, after the Saudi government replied to a request by United Nations Special Rapporteurs for information about the case, the watchdogs say. Al-Otaibi “stands accused of terrorist offences and was arrested in accordance with the law under a legally valid warrant,” Saudi Arabia’s mission to Geneva said in a letter in January, in response to the UN request. Amnesty and ALQST allege Al-Otaibi’s charges are related “solely to her choice of clothing and expression of her views online, including calling on social media for an end to Saudi Arabia’s male guardianship system, publishing videos of herself wearing ‘indecent clothes,’ and ‘going to the shops without wearing an abaya’.” Her sister, Fawzia al-Otaibi, faces similar charges but was able to flee Saudi Arabia after she was summoned for questioning in 2022, they said.