Imprisoned Saudi woman did not take threats 'seriously'

A Saudi woman recently sentenced to 34 years in prison for tweeting critical of the government knew people were telling authorities about her activities but did not take the threats "

", a relative said Thursday.

A 34-year-old doctoral student at the British University of Leeds, Salma Al-Chehab was arrested in January 2021 while on vacation in her country.

This mother of two was sentenced on August 9 to 34 years in prison for “

” dissidents to “

” by relaying their tweets.

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According to a relative, who requested anonymity for her safety, Salma Al-Chehab had not taken the threats of denunciation "

".

“

,” she told AFP.

"

," she added.

Saudi Arabia has tightened its crackdown on dissidents, including feminist activists, since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became its de facto ruler in 2017. The most zealous supporters of his rule routinely bully and denounce critical voices on Twitter .

-- we are all security guards, in Arabic.

This application which "

" allows to testify to crimes and accidents but also to denounce political opponents.

A Shiite in a Sunni-majority country, Salma Al-Chehab, who now has about 2,600 followers, tweeted mostly about women's rights in the ultra-conservative Gulf monarchy.

His sentencing comes weeks after a visit by US President Joe Biden to Saudi Arabia, which was criticized for serious human rights abuses in the kingdom.

Washington claims to regularly address the issue of freedoms with Ryad and State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday that "

".

Amnesty International denounced a "

" sentence, calling on the authorities to release Salma Al-Chehab.

The University of Leeds said it was "

and said he wanted to help him.