"We are appalled by the sentencing of Saudi doctoral student Salma al-Shehab (...) in connection with a series of tweets and retweets on political and human rights issues in Saudi Arabia," said a spokeswoman for the office. of Human Rights, Liz Throssell.
"She should never have been arrested and charged for such behavior," she added in a statement.
A Saudi appeals court sentenced Salma al-Shehab to 34 years in prison, along with a ban on leaving her country for a similar period after her release from detention, according to a judgment handed down on August 9 and including the AFP was able to view a copy this week.
The Saudi court convicted her of "providing assistance", via her tweets, to political opponents who seek to "disturb public order", according to the court document.
"We urge the Saudi authorities to quash her conviction and release her immediately and unconditionally," Throssell said.
Worried about this "extraordinarily long sentence", the spokeswoman worried about the "chilling" effects it could have on "criticism of the government and on civil society in general".
The conviction, she noted, "is yet another example of Saudi authorities using the country's anti-terrorism and anti-cybercrime laws to target human rights defenders and people who express dissenting views, intimidate them and exercise reprisals against them".
In addition to Ms. al-Chehab's release, the UN human rights office is calling on the Saudi authorities to review all convictions relating to freedom of expression of human rights defenders.
This includes, the statement said, "women who have been imprisoned after legitimately demanding reform of discriminatory policies, as well as religious leaders and journalists."
© 2022 AFP