Nourah al-Qahtani

Extra Bio Info:

Nourah al-Qahtani is imprisoned in relation to possessing religious materials.

On July 4, 2021, officers of the Presidency of State Security arrested al-Qahtani for her online activities, in which she condemned Saudi human rights violations and called for the release of political figures.

On February 16, 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced al-Qahtani to 13 years in prison under articles 43, 46 and 53 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Law. It ordered half of her sentence be suspended and imposed a 13-year travel ban upon her release.

On March 22, 2022, prosecutors filed an appeal of al-Qahtani's sentence, in which they levied additional charges, including article 6 of the Anti-Cybercrime Law, which prohibits “storing materials impinging on public order & religious values,” and articles 30, 34, 35, 38, 43, 44 and 57 of the Anti-Terrorism Law. Authorities argued that al-Qahtani's had “insult[ed] the symbols of the State and call[ed] for the release of those detained in State security cases, in addition to possessing a banned book.” The banned booked in question was written by religious scholar and prisoner of conscience Salman al-Ouda.

On August 9, 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal sentenced al-Qahtani to 45 years in prison after finding her guilty of “preparing, sending and storing information, through the Internet, seeking to harm public order” and “seeking to disturb the social fabric, national unity, social cohesion and basic laws." The court also imposed a 45-year travel ban upon her release.

In June 2023, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention declared al-Qahtani's detention arbitrary and called for her immediate release.