The Fourth Anniversary of Maha Al-Huwaiti’s Arrest: A Continued Violation of Human Rights

These days mark the fourth anniversary of Maha Al-Huwaiti’s arrest in February 2021. She was detained over a tweet on the “X” platform criticizing the high cost of living and another tweet in which she expressed condolences for Abdulrahim Al-Huwaiti, who was killed by Saudi security forces during the forced displacement of the Huwaitat tribe.

Maha Al-Huwaiti was arrested in a brutal manner: State Security and emergency forces stormed her home and detained her in front of her five children, the youngest of whom was just four months old.

Exposing the fragility of the Saudi judicial system, Maha’s initial one-year prison sentence was later increased to three years. Then, in August 2022, she was retried and handed a harsher sentence by the Specialized Criminal Court: 23 years in prison.

SANAD Human Rights Organization strongly condemns these grave human rights violations in Saudi Arabia. It calls on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Maha Al-Huwaiti and all prisoners of conscience. SANAD also urges the international community to increase pressure on Saudi authorities to end these repressive policies and ensure that citizens’ fundamental rights are respected.