A Saudi women's rights activist detained over her social media posts has lost contact with the outside world since November, Amnesty International said Wednesday (21/2). The UK-based human rights-focused organization accused the Saudi government of “enforced disappearances.”
Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested in November 2022 for social media posts opposing the male guardianship law and the requirement for women to wear abayas, full-body coverings.
The 29-year-old has not been found guilty or sentenced, but public prosecutors accused her of leading “a campaign to incite Saudi girls to denounce religious principles and rebel against the customs and traditions of Saudi society,” according to court documents seen by the agency's journalists AFP news.
Since November 2023, “prison officials and others have cut off all contact with his family and the outside world”, Amnesty said in a statement.
Saudi authorities “refused to provide his family with information about his whereabouts and living conditions, despite their repeated inquiries,” the human rights group said.
Amnesty campaigner for Saudi Arabia, Bissan Fakih, said Otaibi “should never have been arrested, let alone forcibly disappeared.”
Otaibi appeared before a judge in January last year and was then referred to the Special Criminal Court which was established in 2008 to handle terrorism-related cases but has been widely used to try political dissidents and human rights activists.
“Shortly before we lost contact with him, Manahel told us that he had been severely beaten by fellow prisoners,” Otaibi's sister, Fawzia, told Amnesty.
“I am worried about the fate of my sister facing an unfair trial,” added Fawzia.
Saudi Arabia is often criticized for not tolerating dissent. In 2022, decades-long prison sentences were handed down to two women who tweeted and retweeted posts critical of the government. (lt/ns)