A Saudi girls’s rights activist detained over social media posts has had no contact with the skin world since November, Amnesty Worldwide stated on Wednesday, accusing Saudi authorities of “enforced disappearance”.
Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested in November 2022 over social media posts difficult the nation’s male guardianship legal guidelines and necessities for girls to put on the customary, body-covering abaya.
The 29-year-old has not but been convicted, however prosecutors accuse her of main a “marketing campaign to incite Saudi ladies to problem spiritual ideas and insurgent towards the customs and traditions of Saudi society,” in accordance with courtroom paperwork seen by AFP. .
Since November 2023, “jail and different officers have lower off all contact together with her household and the skin world,” Amnesty stated in a press release.
Saudi authorities have “refused to offer her household with details about her whereabouts and well-being regardless of their repeated requests,” the rights group stated.
Amnesty’s campaigner for Saudi Arabia, Bissan Fakih, stated Otaibi “ought to by no means have been arrested within the first place, not to mention subjected to enforced disappearance”.
Otaibi appeared earlier than judges in January final yr and was subsequently referred to the Specialised Legal Court docket, which was established in 2008 to deal with terrorism-related instances however has been broadly used to strive political dissidents and human rights activists.
“Shortly earlier than we misplaced contact together with her, Manahel instructed us that she had been violently overwhelmed by a fellow inmate,” Otaibi’s sister, Fawzia, instructed Amnesty.
“I fear in regards to the destiny of my sister if she faces such an unjust courtroom,” Fawzia stated.
Saudi Arabia is commonly criticized for not tolerating dissent. In 2022, decades-long jail sentences had been imposed on two girls who tweeted and retweeted messages vital of the federal government.
