On 14 April 2024, five months after Saudi authorities forcibly disappeared 29-year-old Manahel al-Otaibi, she contacted her family for the first time and told them she was being held in solitary confinement in al-Malaz Prison with a broken leg after being brutally beaten in detention, and without access to medical care. Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested on 16 November 2022 and charged with violating the Anti-Cyber Crime Law due to her tweets in support of women’s rights as well as posting photos of herself at the mall without an abaya (a traditional loose-fitting long-sleeved robe) on Snapchat. Her case has been referred to the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC), which is notorious for carrying out grossly unfair trials and handing out harsh sentences, including the death penalty, for individuals peacefully expressing themselves online.
- Index Number
- MDE 23/7977/2024
- Published in
- United Kingdom
