Manahel al-Otaibi, a 31-year-old Saudi blogger and web influencer, fitness instructor and women’s rights activist, uses her platform to promote freedom and gender equality. She is actively involved in campaigns such as #IAmMyOwnGuardian, which aims to abolish the male guardianship system. In September 2022, she was arrested for posting tweets and photos questioning restrictive laws on women, including the requirement to wear the abaya. The Saudi authorities accused her of cybercrime, and her case was quickly referred to an anti-terrorism court, infamous for its unfair trials.

In November 2022, Manahel was imprisoned and, between November 2023 and April 2024, she was forcibly disappeared, a period during which her family was unable to contact her. On 14 April 2024, after more than five months in solitary confinement, she finally managed to contact her family, describing the inhuman conditions in which she was being held. She revealed that she had been the victim of physical violence, having suffered assaults that resulted in a broken leg, without access to medical care.

 

On 9 January 2024, at a secret hearing, Manahel was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment for “terrorist offences”, solely for expressing herself on social networks. Her detention was marked by repeated abuses, including torture and ill-treatment by fellow prisoners and prison guards. There are serious concerns about her health, particularly due to a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, which emerged after the arrest of her sister, Mariam al-Otaibi, also a human rights activist.

[Despite international calls for her release, her sentence was confirmed in November 2024, illustrating the ongoing repression of dissenting voices in Saudi Arabia.

Manahel al-Otaibi’s story illustrates the dangers faced by human rights activists in Saudi Arabia. Despite the liberal façade displayed by Prince Mohammed Ben Salman (known by his acronym MBS), the reality is quite different, marked by the establishment of an authoritarian policy, characterised by arrests and the repression of dissenting voices.

In 2017, a series of arrests targeted clerics, intellectuals and activists critical of Saudi policy. In 2018, the crackdown intensified, targeting women’s rights defenders, opponents and activists. In 2024, a record 338 executions were carried out in the country, representing a sharp increase over 2023, when 172 executions were recorded. This makes Saudi Arabia the country that executed the most prisoners in 2024.

ACAT-France calls for the immediate and unconditional release of Manahel al-Otaibi, as well as all those currently arbitrarily detained and unjustly convicted for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights. The Saudi authorities must provide information about her place of detention, guarantee her safety and well-being, and ensure her access to appropriate health care.

 

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