Mohammed Al-Rabiah, a writer and a youth cultural activist, was arrested on 15 May 2018 along with the most prominent women rights activists, for his role in supporting the women activists’ calls for rights. He was publicly defamed as a traitor in the state-sponsored newspaper and digital media accounts, and denied access to a lawyer or family visits while allegedly endured brutal torture. Al-Rabiah was subject to electrocution, waterboarding, kept in a small wardrobe for days unable to sit or sleep, hung upside down by his feet, and beaten until unconscious. He was sentenced on 20 April 2021 by the SCC to six and a half years in prison, with two years suspended, followed by a travel ban of the same length, on charges related to his activism and defence of women’s rights. Al-Rabiah was then retried and sentenced to 17 years in prison in December 2022. He was released in May 2025, after serving seven years of imprisonment.