Rights group urges UN intervention in Saudi Arabia amid 'harsher' sentences for prisoners of conscience

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor has called for the United Nations to intervene and protect prisoners of conscience in Saudi Arabia. 

The human rights group said that the Gulf kingdom is 'taking a harsher approach to critics, opinion-makers and human rights defenders' in a press release on Tuesday, and called on the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to send a team to Saudi Arabia. 

#السعودية| سياسة تعظيم تكلفة انتقاد السلطات تستدعي تدخلًا أمميًا لحماية معتقلي الرأيhttps://t.co/IEFnkTlxtY

— Euro Med Monitor in Gulf (@euromedgulf) August 23, 2022

The rights group highlighted two recent sentences passed by the kingdom.

One was against Saleh al-Taleb, the former imam of Mecca’s Grand Mosque who was sentenced to ten years in jail on Tuesday allegedly for a sermon in which he urged Muslims to speak out against evil, and the other against Salma al-Shehab, a Saudi PhD candidate who was sentenced to 34 years in jail for following and retweeting Saudi dissidents on Twitter. 

Al-Shehab’s sentence is the longest sentence ever given to a women’s rights defender in the Kingdom. 

1. I don’t expect much from the Saudi government when it comes to human rights.

But there is a horrific violation of human rights that I want to bring attention to.

This is Salma al-Shehab and she's just been sentenced to 34 years in prison for tweeting and retweeting. pic.twitter.com/9GzsrfnuKm

— Leah Remini (@LeahRemini) August 21, 2022

Salma al-Shehab’s sentence led to global outrage among rights defenders, prompting the United States government to issue a statement. 

“We have raised our significant concerns with Saudi authorities," US State Department spokesman Ned Price said regarding Al-Shehab’s sentence. 

"We have made the point to them that freedom of expression is a universal human right to which all people are entitled."

Last week, the United Nations condemned Al-Shehab’s arrest and urged the kingdom to quash the conviction of Salma Al-Shehab and "release her immediately and unconditionally".

The Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor urged Saudi authorities to "unconditionally release Sheikh Saleh Al-Taleb, twitter user Salma Al-Shehab, and all prisoners of conscience in the Kingdom," calling on them to "stop criminalising criticism and respect the right of individuals to freedom of opinion and expression."

Saudi Arabia is known for routinely imprisoning activists, journalists, and preachers without a clear cause.

The kingdom has imprisoned several dissidents perceived to have spoken out against the state over the past few years, especially since current Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman became the de-facto ruler in 2017.  

The New Arab has contacted the Saudi embassy in London for comment.