Iran Press/ West Asia: Saudi Arabia secretly sentenced a 29-year-old women’s rights activist to 11 years in prison for charges of "defaming the kingdom at home and abroad, calling for rebellion against public order and society’s traditions and customs, and challenging the judiciary and its justice," according to court documents earlier seen by The Associated Press.
Al-Otaibi, a certified fitness instructor and artist who frequently promoted female empowerment on her social media accounts was arrested in November 2022.
Saudi Arabia confirmed in a letter to the United Nations that a female fitness instructor who was popular online received an 11-year prison sentence but did not specify any of her alleged "terrorism offenses."
Though the kingdom insisted the case had nothing to do with the instructor's online presence, human rights activists say the conviction levied against Manahel al-Otaibi shows the limits of expression in Saudi Arabia.
It also highlights another side of the kingdom, now run day-to-day by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who under his 88-year-old father King Salman has dramatically liberalized some aspects of women's lives in the country.
The human rights organization issued joint statements on Tuesday about al-Otaibi's prison sentence, first revealed in a Saudi letter dated Jan. 25 and sent to the U.N.'s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In its letter, Saudi Arabia’s permanent mission to the U.N. in Geneva did not outline any of the evidence that convicted al-Otaibi while saying there had been "unfounded and uncorroborated allegations and claims" made about her case.
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