UK Student Jailed in Saudi Arabia for Tweets Supporting Women's Rights Released After Decades-Long Sentence Drastically Reduced

Salma al-Shehab, a PhD student and mother of two, has been released from prison more than four years after she was charged with terrorism for tweeting in support of women's rights. (Credit: Human Rights Foundation)

A Saudi woman who was sentenced to 34 years in prison for tweeting in support of women's rights has been released following international outrage and multiple appeals.

Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi PhD student and mother of two, was arrested in 2021 for tweeting and retweeting posts advocating for women's rights. She was initially sentenced to six years behind bars, but her punishment was later increased to an unprecedented 34-year prison term on terrorism-related charges for tweets said to "disturb public order" and "destabilize the security of society and the stability of the state."