UN calls for release of Saudi woman sentenced to 34 years for tweeting

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, expressed outrage on Friday over a 34-year prison sentence handed down to a Saudi woman charged with aiding dissidents.

Al-Shehab, 34, was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2021 while on a holiday from the United Kingdom where she is a student.

She was accused of spreading false information and aiding dissidents seeking to disrupt public order with her tweets, retweets and follows on Twitter.

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, expressed outrage on Friday over a prison sentence spanning more than three decades handed down to a Saudi woman charged with following and retweeting so-called dissidents and activists.