Saudi Arabia again sentences woman to 45 years in prison for Twitter use | Abroad

It is the second time in just two weeks that a Saudi woman has been convicted of using Twitter. For example, student Salma al-Shihab was sentenced to 34 years in prison for “providing help” with her tweets to political opponents who “wanted to disrupt public order”.

“The recent sentencing shows how the Saudi authorities feel encouraged to sanction even the mildest criticism from civilians,” said Abdullah Alaudh, DAWN chief of investigation. According to Alaudh, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would not allow such “vengeful and excessive punishment” if he feared conflict with the United States and other Western governments.

In early July, US President Joe Biden met Crown Prince Mohammed in the coastal city of Jeddah. The controversial visit was seen as a diplomatic boost for Mohammed, who is blamed by US intelligence agencies for the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and who was partially isolated internationally after that crime.

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