Manahel al-Otaibi appeared in court in January for rebelling “against the customs and traditions of Saudi society.” Her relatives have no news of the young woman.
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A women’s rights activist, detained in Saudi Arabia for a year and a half for publications on social networks, has lost all contact with the outside world, Amnesty International denounced on Wednesday February 21. “Saudi authorities must immediately release Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old sports coach, human rights defender and blogger, who has been forcibly disappeared since November 2023”says the human rights organization, in a press release.
Prison authorities have cut off all possibility of contact for the young woman, still awaiting trial, and have refused to provide her family with information on her whereabouts and her state of health, he said. she clarified. Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested in November 2022 for posting messages contesting laws on male guardianship and the obligation for women to wear the traditional abaya, a long dress covering the body.
Violently beaten by a fellow inmate, according to her sister
Last January, she appeared before judges for having led a “propaganda campaign aimed at inciting young Saudi girls to denounce religious principles and rebel against the customs and traditions of Saudi society”, according to court documents consulted at the time by AFP. She was then referred to the Specialized Criminal Court, a court established in 2008 to handle terrorism-related cases. This court “is known for conducting unfair trials and handing out harsh sentences, including the death penalty”against political dissidents and human rights activists, underlined Amnesty International.
“Shortly before we lost contact with her, Manahel told us that she had been violently beaten by a fellow inmate”said his sister Fowzia, quoted in the press release. “I worry about the fate of my sister before such an unjust court”, she added. Often accused of repressing dissidents, Saudi Arabia imposed very harsh prison sentences in August and September 2022 on two women who relayed critical messages on social networks.