The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) has received disturbing news about the condition of Saudi women’s rights activist Manahel Al-Otaibi, who is currently imprisoned for her defence of human rights, specifically women’s rights. On 09 January 2024, she was sentenced to 11 years in prison in a secret hearing before the Specialised Criminal Court as a result of her women’s rights activism online and for wearing “indecent” clothes.

Al-Otaibi was arrested on 16 November 2022 and one year later, her family lost contact with her until 14 April 2024, when she was finally able to contact them and let them know that she was being held in solitary confinement in Malaz Prison in Riyadh.

According to her family, Al-Otaibi has been subjected to sexual harassment and various forms of abuse while in detention, since late last year. She reported an incident where an inmate who was let inside her cell beat her severely, to the point where she couldn’t walk. In April 2024, GCHR was among 11 NGOs who protested the abuse and mistreatment of Al-Otaibi, including reports that her leg was broken. She told her family that when she complained to the prison authorities, they found both the perpetrator and Al-Otaibi herself guilty and placed her in solitary confinement for weeks while denying her any medical attention. Afterwards, she said that she was allowed to receive medical attention, but then was subjected to another attack by a group of women inmates who entered her cell and abused her sexually.

She does not have legal counselling, because her lawyers are unable to properly communicate with the authorities. Her lawyers and family are not informed of the case proceedings and are unable to receive any information regarding the case from state security. Al-Otaibi told her family, through brief phone calls, that she was brought to a court session where two plain-clothed men mocked her by asking her whether she would prefer ten or twenty years in prison. The official who mocked her then told her that her sentence would be eleven years. The family is unable to confirm the details of the abuse or encounters with the officials because of the short duration of the phone calls, which generally have lasted 2-3 minutes, and the frequent cutting of the line whenever information was shared.

The family learned about the preliminary sentencing of Al-Otaibi to 11 years in prison from a letter by the Mission of Saudi Arabia in Geneva (Ref. No. 413/1874) dated 21 May 2024. The letter came in response to a request from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) at the United Nations for further information on Al-Otaibi’s case, including the complaints of abuse, and for access to visits and legal representation. The letter mentioned that the Saudi authorities denied Al-Otaibi’s allegations of abuse, without providing any evidence.

The letter reported that she was preliminarily sentenced according to articles 43 and 44 of the Terrorism Crimes and Terrorism Financing Act to 11 years in prison. The vague wording of Articles 43 and 44 allows for them to be used in targeting legitimate use of the internet as the crime of terrorism. The authorities also claimed that she attended all the court sessions with her lawyer, while her family denies any proper legal representation or receipt of legal documents. The letter did not specify which acts of alleged “terror” were committed by Al-Otaibi and only refer to the reason for sentencing as, “The individual in question was convicted of terrorist offences that have no bearing on her exercise of freedom of opinion and expression or her social media posts, as stated in the joint communication. Her acts cannot be justified under any circumstances.”

In addition, the two sisters of Al-Otaibi, Maryam and Fawzia Al-Otaibi, were also targeted by the authorities using various forms of legal harassment, including travel bans, summons for interrogations, threats of imprisonment, and denial of obtaining permits for online work. In July 2024, Maryam Al-Otaibi, who was placed under indefinite travel ban years ago, was summoned by the police for interrogation, and she now fears the same fate as Manahel. Fawzia Al-Otaibi was able to flee the country in 2022 before being arrested after attending an investigation session that revolved around her daily online blogging of her lifestyle and support of previous online campaigns for women’s rights.

Manahel Al-Otaibi is a 30-year-old online influencer and fitness instructor, who was active online in documenting her daily lifestyle and celebrated the new Vision 2030 plan and the reforms of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia, including allowing women to dress as they please. She was also active in previous online campaigns calling for an end to the male guardianship system and the ban on women driving, using feminist hashtags. She was first arrested on 16 November 2022, based on a detention order to be held at the women’s prison in Riyadh. Her preliminary sentencing of 11 years’ imprisonment was decided by a ruling on 09 January 2024. The case is still under consideration before the court.

Recommendations:

GCHR calls on the Saudi authorities to respect the rights of women to freely express their opinions online and engage in community campaigns for more rights and freedoms. It also calls for the following in the case of Manahel Al-Otaibi and her sisters Maryam and Fawzia:

1. End all forms of legal harassment, including summons for interrogations, denial of permits to create content online, travel bans, and unjust, lengthy detention and mistreatment;
2. Investigate all cases of abuse in a transparent manner and hold the officials involved accountable, to protect due process and the rule of law; and
3. Release Manahel Al-Otaibi and end the travel ban against her sister Maryam, without any further retaliation.