A Saudi Arabian woman has been condemned to 30 years imprisonment for publicly critiquing Neom megacity initiative on Twitter, as per a UK-based human rights group.
Fatima al-Shawarbi, in her twenties from the province of Al-Ahsa, has been indicted for her anonymous social media posts, questioning Saudi Arabia’s displacement of residents to accommodate the Neom project. The revelations came from ALQST, an organisation dedicated to promoting human rights, and a key source of insights into the Saudi justice system, notorious for its opacity.
While Saudi Embassy officials in London have refrained from commenting, ALQST relayed their dependence on undisclosed contacts for gathering information, for fear of potential retribution. According to the group, al-Shawarbi was arrested in 2020 for her critiques of the treatment of women in Saudi Arabia and for advocating a constitutional monarchy over the current absolute rule.
Human Rights Watch, in a 2020 report, indicated that incarcerated female dissenters are frequently denied any contact with their families or the outside world.
Lina Alhathloul, a researcher at ALQST, revealed to the BBC that al-Shawarbi had recently participated in a hunger strike alongside other women detainees, including Salma al-Shehab, a Leeds University PhD student. The condition of al-Shawarbi is presently unknown, Alhathloul stated.
The intricacies of how Saudi authorities were able to identify al-Shawarbi as the author of the contentious tweets are unclear, as per Alhathloul. Al-Shawarbi had previously informed friends to publicise her case should her social media activity suddenly cease.
Neom, a brainchild of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s autocratic leader, envisions a city sprawling over a 10,200 square mile stretch in the Tabuk Province in northwestern Saudi Arabia.
In an April report, the UN condemned Saudi Arabia for undermining human rights, especially the forced eviction of the local Huweitat tribe for the Neom project. The report documented the fatal shooting of tribe member Abdul Rahim al-Huwaiti, who resisted eviction, and the subsequent sentencing to death of three other tribe members. Moreover, it was reported that the Saudi authorities have relentlessly persecuted those criticising the treatment of the Huweitat and the killing of al-Huwaiti.
The human rights record of Saudi Arabia has drawn widespread condemnation, with allegations of torture, arbitrary arrests, detentions, and restrictions on freedom of speech and assembly from Amnesty International. Yet, despite these criticisms, Saudi Arabia continues to attract substantial investment from affluent Western companies for the Neom project.
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