Arrested for wearing western clothes
The terrible plight of imprisoned Saudi human rights activist Manahel al-Otaibi has been well documented on North East Bylines. It was reported in May 2024 that two human rights groups had condemned the 11-year prison sentence handed to Manahel.
Amnesty International and ALQST said that Manahel al-Otaibi, 29, was convicted of charges related to her clothing choices and expression of her views online. These included “calls for an end to the guardianship system and videos of her shopping without an abaya”.
Retrial for Manahel
It was reported by Amnesty International on 15 May that Manahel al-Otaibi would have a hearing for her case, scheduled to take place before Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) on 26 May 2025.
It was further noted that Manahel al-Otaibi has been imprisoned from as far back as 16 November 2022. It was also stated that on 9 January 2024, the SCC had “sentenced Manahel al-Otaibi to 11 years in prison for “terrorist offences” in a secret trial. She was initially charged with violating the Anti-Cyber Crime Law, then faced additional charges under the counter-terror law due to her tweets in support of women’s rights as well as posting photos of herself at the mall without an abaya (a traditional loose-fitting long-sleeved robe) on Snapchat. Saudi authorities have subjected her to torture and other ill-treatment, as well as enforced disappearance”.
MPs write to David Lammy
In a separate development, seven MPs and three members of the House of Lords have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy to express their deep concern about the cases of Saudi sisters and women’s rights activists Manahel and Maryam al-Otaibi, who the MPs note, “remain imprisoned and under travel ban in the kingdom respectively. A third sister, Fouz, who is seeking asylum in the UK, remains at risk should she return home”.
The letter goes on to note that in prison, Manahel has been subjected to a catalogue of human rights violations, including denial of health care, various forms of psychological and physical torture and solitary confinement. The MPs also state that Manahel has had to endure abuse from guards and fellow inmates, including stabbings and beatings.
The MPs also expressed their concern that, “since her last phone call to her family in December, she has been forcibly disappeared, raising fears for her safety”.
Meanwhile the MPs note that the eldest of the three sisters, Maryam, who was imprisoned in 2017 for over 100 days, remains “trapped in the country under an unofficial travel ban imposed as a result of her activism. She has tried to have her ban lifted by contacting several official bodies including the official Saudi Human Rights Commission (SHRC), but so far without success”.
Perhaps most importantly, the MPs state the following: “Their cases are emblematic, standing in contrast to the authorities’ narrative of women’s empowerment. Ironically, the sisters exercised freedoms that they believed were ensured by reforms announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, including to wear what they liked. Yet they were targeted for doing so”.
The MPs also rightly note that we should be doing more here in the UK to hold the regime in Saudi Arabia accountable for their actions. They argue that as a close ally of Saudi Arabia, the UK has “considerable diplomatic leverage with which to press the Saudi authorities over such human rights violations in the country, and to raise individual cases like the al-Otaibi sisters. The FCDO has said it is monitoring the cases, and that Saudi Arabia remains a FCDO human rights priority country. But further steps are needed”.
Consequently, the MPs urge Lammy to use the full range of diplomatic tools at his disposal to help secure Manahel’s release and the lifting of Maryam’s travel ban, and of other women detained and facing “such restrictions for exercising their basic freedoms”.
Who are the MPs?
The signatories on the letter are as follows:
- Ellie Chowns MP
- Andy Slaughter MP
- Baroness Lister of Burtersett
- Brian Leishman MP
- Catherine Fookes MP
- Christine Jardine MP
- Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle
- Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
- Sammy Wilson MP
- The Rt Hon. the Baroness D’Souza CMG
The MPs represent the Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Democratic Unionist parties. Given the close ties between Newcastle and Saudi Arabia, it is of course notable that no Newcastle MPs or other elected representatives are among the signatories.
For more information about the retrial and what you can do to help Manahel please see here.
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