Salma al-Shehab

Salma al-Shehab (; born 1988) is a Saudi Arabian student and prisoner of conscience who was sentenced to 27 years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court in what has been cited as the longest prison sentence ever given to a human rights activist in Saudi Arabia. While al-Shehab's initial six-year sentence received relatively little press, her resentencing in August 2022 received international attention and led to criticism of the Saudi Arabian government. Al-Shehab was released in February 2025, according to a statement from London-based rights group ALQST.

Personal life Al-Shehab is a member of Saudi Arabia's minority Shia population.

At the time of her arrest in January 2021, al-Shehab was a final year dental medicine PhD student at the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and was married with two children. the release of local activists including Loujain al-Hathloul; and calling for an end to the country's male guardianship system. In January 2021, while on holiday in Saudi Arabia, al-Shehab was arrested; during her appeal of her sentencing, she stated that she had been kept in custody for 285 days following her arrest before the case was referred to a criminal court, in breach of laws that time in custody should not exceed 180 days; she also stated she was not given access to her lawyer and spent 13 days in solitary confinement. While being held, al-Shehab alleged that her dignity had been "violated" – believed to be reference to physical or sexual assault – and that she had been pressured to say that she was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Her sentence was appealed by the state prosecutor for being "minor in view of her crimes", and in August 2022 her sentence was increased to 34 years, citing multiple violations of Saudi Arabia's counterterrorism and anti-cybercrime laws; including accusations of aiding dissidents by trying to "disrupt public order" and publishing "false rumours" online. In addition, al-Shehab was given a 34-year travel ban from leaving the country, to start following the completion of her prison sentence. Al-Shehab stated her sentence had led to the "destruction" of her future and the future of her children.

International reaction In Saudi Arabia, Lina al-Hathloul of the Saudi Arabian human rights organisation ALQST stated al-Shehab's treatment demonstrated that the government was "hellbent on harshly punishing anyone who expresses their opinions freely". The US state department released a statement after al-Shehab's sentencing saying "exercising freedom of expression to advocate for the rights of women should not be criminalised".

In September 2022, an open letter from 400 academics in the United Kingdom called on the British government to take "urgent action" to free al-Shehab; a government spokesperson said that ministers had raised concerns with Saudi Arabian authorities and would "continue to do so". The Freedom Initiative called al-Shehab's sentencing "abhorrent"; it also been alleged that al-Shehab's harsh sentencing was due in part to her belonging to Saudi Arabia's Shia minority. Amnesty International reported that al-Shehab's sentence had been made to "set an example" to other activists and described her imprisonment as "cruel and unusual";

On Twitter, al-Shehab's name trended following her re-sentencing.

Re-Sentencings and Release Al-Shehab's initial March 2022 sentence of six years was increased on appeal to 34 years in August 2022. Al-Shehab also appealed that judgement and the sentence was reduced to 27 years in January 2023. A third appeal in September 2024 reduced the sentence further to four years.

Al-Shehab's final four-year prison sentence concluded in December 2024 and she was released in February 2025.