Salma Al-Shehab’s slanderous condemnation

I amAnd so he found himself in Saudi Arabia on August 9, a judge to sentence the doctor of dentistry to thirty-four years in prison. For what crime? A particularly secretive Twitter account shared messages in favor of women’s rights.

In the first instance, a harsher six-year prison sentence was handed down in 2021 against Salma al-Sehab, 34, a mother of two and a member of the often-treated minority. stigmatized. On appeal, the Saudi judge made this stark choice. The ban on leaving the kingdom was even extended for the same amount of time. The young woman, who was pursuing her studies in the United Kingdom before being arrested during a visit to Saudi Arabia by this judge, “Help given to those who attempt to disturb public order and spread false and malicious information”.

In terms of harm to the kingdom, the judges behind this outrageous sentence have, in fact, broken all records. They justify the worst clichés that Saudi officials complain about in the first place. With such authorities, Saudi Arabia does not need detractors. In 2018, the harshest sentence pronounced against members of the commando responsible for the assassination and brutal dismemberment of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi at the kingdom’s embassy in Istanbul was fourteen years less than the one that hit Salma. Al-Shehab…

MBS account for this result

Because we will not insult Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by considering his hands tied by the principle of separation of powers, he must openly take responsibility for this scandalous condemnation that has rocked even the United Nations. In turn, the conviction embarrasses Western leaders who participated in Khashoggi’s recent rehabilitation after the affair. This is US President Joe Biden. who met him in Jeddah in Julyand Emmanuel Macron, After a while, who got it in Paris. Even the most ice-cold of realpolitik must arbitrarily impose limits, especially when it claims to defend values ​​such as equality and respect for human rights.

We have to hope that the Saudi authorities will soon come to their senses and that this punishment, which makes a mockery of them in the eyes of the whole world, will soon be overturned. His rise is notable for bringing his peers to heel, particularly brutally, within a monarchy that had long been vested in a college, rather than particularly dangerous decisions that testify to the deafness of a prince. Such as the destructive and futile war waged in Yemen against the Houthi insurgency.

Before the assassination of the Saudi dissident, and after diplomatic isolation, Mohammed bin Salman did not count on his power to establish the narrative of a reformist prince, determined to pull the kingdom from stagnation and anticipate the end of oil revenues. Today the Saudi coffers are swelling. The strategic choice for greater openness of the kingdom to the world, especially through tourism, is incompatible with the manners and customs of a satrap, illustrated by the unjustified condemnation of Salma al-Sehab.