Manahel al-Otaibi, a 29-year-old fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, was sentenced during a “secret hearing” before the kingdom’s Specialized Criminal Court on January 9, 2024, Amnesty International and the London-based Saudi rights organization ALQST said in a joint statement Tuesday.
“With this sentence the Saudi authorities have exposed the hollowness of their much-touted women’s rights reforms in recent years and demonstrated their chilling commitment to silencing peaceful dissent.” Following her arrest, al-Otaibi was subjected “to physical and psychological abuse” in the Malaz Prison in Riyadh, the groups said. She told her family in April that she was being held in solitary confinement and had a broken leg as a result of physical abuse, Amnesty and ALQST said.