On the Fifth Anniversary of Her Arrest, SANAD Calls for the Immediate Release of Saudi Activist Nora Al-Qahtani
These days mark the fifth anniversary of the arrest of Saudi activist Nora bint Saeed Al-Qahtani, who was detained by Saudi authorities on 4 July 2021 over tweets she posted from a pseudonymous account on Twitter—now known as X—in which she called for the release of prisoners of conscience in the Kingdom.
Al-Qahtani was 50 years old at the time of her arrest. She subsequently faced a series of charges linked to her peaceful online activity, including “insulting state symbols” and “undermining the security of society.” These charges were based on tweets she had posted, her following of several activists, and even her possession of a book by Dr. Salman Al-Odah, despite the book being legally available in bookstores across Saudi Arabia.
On 16 February 2022, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced Al-Qahtani to 13 years in prison. However, the sentence was significantly increased on appeal, and on 9 August 2022 she was sentenced to 45 years’ imprisonment, followed by a 45-year travel ban. It remains one of the harshest sentences ever imposed on a Saudi woman for peacefully exercising her right to freedom of expression online.
Available information indicates that Nora Al-Qahtani was among the victims of espionage and hacking operations targeting Twitter users, which contributed to exposing the identities of activists and online commentators, leading to their surveillance, prosecution, and arrest.
In an opinion issued on 3 April 2023, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Al-Qahtani’s detention is arbitrary and called on the Saudi authorities to release her immediately, provide her with fair compensation, and ensure effective reparation for the harm she has suffered.
Al-Qahtani is the mother of five children, including a daughter with a disability, making the humanitarian consequences of her continued detention even more severe. In February 2025, she was transferred to solitary confinement amid human rights reports that she had been denied family visits and communication with her relatives, raising serious concerns about her physical and psychological well-being and potentially amounting to enforced disappearance.
SANAD Human Rights Organization reiterates its call on the Saudi authorities to release Nora Al-Qahtani immediately and unconditionally, end all forms of repression and persecution related to freedom of opinion and expression, and guarantee her right to justice, human dignity, and effective reparation.
The organization also calls on the international community, United Nations bodies, and human rights organizations to exert meaningful pressure on the Saudi authorities to secure Al-Qahtani’s release, free all prisoners of conscience, and end the use of the judiciary and excessive prison sentences as tools to punish peaceful activists and individuals for expressing their opinions.
