Twitter Turnaround: Saudi Student's Sentence Drastically Reduced

Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi doctoral student at Leeds University, was released after her 34-year sentence for Twitter activity in Saudi Arabia was reduced. Rights group ALQST announced the reduction and her release. Saudi Arabia has not acknowledged the release or responded to requests for comment.

Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi doctoral student at Leeds University, has been released after her prison sentence for Twitter activity was significantly reduced, according to a rights group. Originally sentenced to 34 years for her social media activity, her term was lowered to four years with an additional four years suspended.

The announcement came from the London-based Saudi rights group ALQST, which emphasized the importance of granting her full freedom, including the ability to travel for her studies. Saudi authorities, however, have yet to confirm her release and did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press.

Al-Shehab had been detained during a family vacation in January 2021. As a member of Saudi Arabia's Shiite Muslim minority, her social media activities, which included retweeting dissident accounts, were deemed disruptive by judges, leading to her initial harsh sentence.