Zaina’s Mom | Executive Director of Sage Advocacy Center | Senior Fellow on Saudi Arabia for
@hrf
| PhD in Human Rights Law. Proud
@UWschooloflaw
alumna
Breaking:
#SaudiArabia
touts improvements on women’s rights issues, yet just sentenced
#Saudi
mother of two young children, academic and women’s rights activist
@I_Salma1988
to 34 years in prison and a 34 year travel ban to follow this week, over tweets. 💔
#FreeSalma
The court just ruled in our favor & I can’t stop crying tears of joy. 😭
Washington found
#Saudi
to be in violation of human rights due to discrimination in Saudi law on the basis of gender, nationality, religion & the facts in our Saudi court case.
Z & I will stay in the USA!
Still waiting on
#Washington
State to make a ruling on if we will be sent back to
#Saudi
Arabia or not. Court minutes from June 22nd state: “court noted if the mother returned back to Saudi Arabia she would be subject to imprisonment and possibly death.”
#notwithoutmydaughter
Still waiting on
#Washington
State to make a ruling on if we will be sent back to
#Saudi
Arabia or not. Court minutes from June 22nd state: “court noted if the mother returned back to Saudi Arabia she would be subject to imprisonment and possibly death.”
#notwithoutmydaughter
My first court hearing in
#Saudi
, I walked in & the judge yelled at me to “cover my face”. I undid my scarf to drape it completely over my face. I later started wearing niqab to hearings, so at least my eyes were not covered.
Courts are no place to *force* women to be invisible.
Concerning development on US citizen Carly Morris & her girl who are trapped in
#SaudiArabia
. Police summoned Carly & informed she is facing charges for “disrupting public order”,
#Saudi
prosecutor is reportedly seeking to put her jail. Hearing is Sunday.
Please continue to share & remember Hadeel AlHarthi, may she rest in power. She shared her photos on social media & her brother murdered her for it. Typical
#SaudiArabia
“justice”...he faced no legal consequences for it. How’s that for “women’s empowerment”?
#حق_هديل_الحارثي
Wow.
@washingtonpost
just dropped this FIRE regarding
#Saudi
women’s rights activist Salma alShehab’s outrageous sentencing of 34 years in prison last week. Thank you for refusing to be silent on atrocities happening in
#SaudiArabia
under MBS.
#freesalma
Months ago my daughter & I were stuck in
#Saudi
! It’s an honor to be in Washington State now, & I am grateful we are FREE,
#covid19
madness and all, I’ll take it. Zaina sang me this song today, Happy Saudi Mother’s Day to the moms who fight against all odds.
#Saudi
troll
@BBsayh
brags on reporting Salma al-Shehab to the authorities through a crime reporting App in
#Saudi
(the App has a rep of ignoring women’s reports of violent crime) 2 months before she was jailed. Saudi must realize peaceful expression is not a crime &
#FreeSalma
.
Telling women to accept abuse in private is the toxic mentality which perpetuates the abuse & murders of women in the region. The father humiliated *himself* the moment he laid a hand on his daughter & violated her rights.
These “men” deserve more than humiliation.
#saudi
قبل مايقارب 7 سنوات تكلمت في أحد فيدوهاتي عن سيدة سعودية سجنت والدها وتزوجت من تحب !
اليوم "بعض" من النساء يحاولون ترويج فكرة ان الرجل السعودي متناقض يقبل ان يتزوج من اجنبية ويرفض نفس الشيء ع بنت بلده
حديثي كان ولا زال فقط عن موضوع إذلال الاب بهذه الصورة أمام العالم !!
Many of the new “reforms” for women in
#Saudi
Arabia are because of Loujain’s bravery and efforts.
Thank you for fighting for my daughter. May you soon be free and one day have the future daughter you spoke of. 🤍
A Saudi hero,
Never a traitor.
#FreeLoujain
#لا_تقتلو_لجين
An honor to deliver the grad commencement speech at
@UWSchoolofLaw
yesterday, to share my journey to law & human rights and to dedicate this moment to the
#Saudi
activists who inspired me. Congrats! Full speech can be found here at the one hour mark:
Also for Westerners who think women in
#Saudi
had to cover head to toe until MBS “saved us”...this is me in Saudi in 2014, pre-MBS.
The confusing part: women could still be punished over this today! Precisely because Saudi is lawless, corrupt & hasn’t MADE ACTUAL REFORMS.
Such injustice is intolerable.
I watched too many women in
#Saudi
courts crying, screaming, falling to the floor after hearing a judge issue an unjust, abhorrent & dangerous ruling.
Loujain represents millions of women’s countless tears.
Wishing freedom & JUSTICE for Loujain.
Loujain cried when she heard the sentence today. After nearly 3 years of arbitrary detention, torture, solitary confinement - they now sentence her and label her a terrorist. Loujain will appeal the sentence and ask for another investigation regarding torture
#FreeLoujain
Zaina & I left everything behind in
#Saudi
in Dec. We’ve been trying to rebuild our lives, but legal fees have been steep. We’re fighting to stay in the
#USA
, but it’s been costly. Thanks for doing this for us Cherie, Z & I have an incredible community. 🤍
Later the
#Saudi
judge who forced me to cover my face, held a 30 minute session where I sat covered in front of him, while he “reviewed” photos of me in a bikini in the USA that were illegally taken off my private account in violation of Saudi cyber laws. The Hypocrisy is real...
Working in Intl human rights law has been a dream, but this lady just upped her game & got accepted into law school in the USA. 😭♥️
One step closer to being able to sue human rights violators in US courts.
Coming for you soon dictators, abusers, torturers...
The
#Saudi
@pss_en
could have done a better job at photoshopping. At minimum, fix the white space between the legs & fingers of the officer with super human flying capabilities to match the background.
But rest assured, the security of the nation is in competent hands. 🤦🏻♀️🥴
On the torture and ongoing imprisonment of the amazing
#saudi
women’s rights activist
@LoujainHathloul
. Her brother
@WalidAlhathloul
powerfully recounts the situation & how their family is likely being punished for speaking out on her arrest.
#FreeLoujain
So many asking for my statement in court today. I argued that
#Washington
state cannot enforce a child custody settlement that specifically endorses slavery, as the
#Saudi
order does. Praying Washington State does the right thing.
#blacklivesmatter
#StandWithSaudiHeroes
So elated to hear about the news on Abdulrahman Al-Sadhan. Inshallah you will be holding your brothers hands again soon.
@AreejASadhan
your fight has been inspiring. Inshallah your wonderful Mama gets her daily calls from Abdul & a big hug from him in Cali soon.
#freesadhan
Loujain will turn 31 from inside of a
#Saudi
prison. She advocated for women’s rights & wanted to end discrimination for future generations of girls in Saudi.
Thank you for fighting for our daughters, we will not give up on you. 🤍
Happy Birthday from Zaina.
#FreeLoujain
The people of
#SaudiArabia
deserve so much better than MBS and this childish BS.
It’s like America’s Trump era, except it’s an absolute monarchy sans election, rule of law, judicial independence or democracy providing any means to end the violent circus…
#مقابلة_سعد_الجبري
Today is my birthday. I still owe tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees as I continue to fight in court to keep my daughter & I from being returned to
#SaudiArabia
. Please consider donating or sharing to help offset the burden:
Ah. Found this gem today. Once upon a time in Jeddah in 2011. This was back when we had to cross dress to drive in
#Saudi
Arabia. 🤦🏻♀️
Several of the women who fought for the right to drive remain in prison or silenced in exile abroad.
#SaudiStyleReform
#freeloujain
@thefreedomi
Hi
@gugachacra
- please uplift - this Saudi women’s rights activist and mother of two was just sentenced to 34 years in jail over tweets. 💔 This is what happens when we embrace & embolden dictators and speaks to the points you wrote on recently:
This point needs to be reiterated so many times for the international community to hear.
@KarenAttiah
says it well here, letting MBS get away with the
#JamalKhashoggi
murder puts the lives of so many
#Saudi
human rights activists & dissidents in danger:
Here’s a photo of Katherine & I in Riyadh (Katherine was mentioned by name in
@LoujainHathloul
’s initial charges).
To contextualize how ridiculous “terrorism” charges are in Saudi - by Saudi legal definitions, this photo could be an “act of terrorism”. 🤦🏻♀️
UPDATE: the judges confirmed the first sentencing of
@LoujainHathloul
, which means SA confirms considering the UK, the EU, and the Netherlands “terrorist entities” and contacting them a “terrorist act”.
#FreeLoujain
.
The Dissident has only just come out & has a score of just 2.8 out of 10 on
@IMDb
- with 190 total votes and 143 that gave it just 1. (average movie rating on IMDB is ≈6.4) Seems unusual for movie that got an excellent review in Variety ("riveting").
I was arrested in Riyadh & had a criminal case for this too. Female citizens & residents (esp. women under a kafeel) live a different reality than tourists. Problem is
#Saudi
lawlessness. They apply or ignore laws when convenient & keep loopholes to protect men.
#وين_امل_الاسمري
Carly Morris was lured to
#SaudiArabia
with her child in 2019 and has been stuck since. She is out of jail, but still facing criminal charges for asking for help on Twitter, and under travel ban. She is unable to work and her family is asking for help.
Excuse me while I get a bit emo & share a major life moment in a thread.
I started my PhD at the
@IrishCentreHR
in International Human Rights Law while pregnant with my daughter in 2014 while I was living in
#Saudi
. During that time I went through postpartum depression, 1
WA court of appeals unanimously ruled in my favor today affirming the superior courts findings, analyzing I would be subject to jail or death in
#SaudiArabia
. My daughter & I will NOT be forced to return to Saudi. RCW 26.27.051(4) for the win. THANK YOU! 😭
🔴LIVE: Our Inaugural 2021 Saudi Report: Friend or Foe? Saudi Arabian Government Repression in the US and Worldwide is now available.
Read the report:
#FriendorFoe
#FreeSaudiDefenders
#SaudiArabia
in a nutshell: one moment releasing a prominent internationally celebrated political prisoner after a decade of wrongful detention…less than 24 hours later, a mass execution of 81 people in a single day.
There is no logical justification for the ongoing detention of
@salman_alodah
in
#Saudi
.
Hoping for justice for this family’s ongoing pain and freedom for all those wrongfully detained and kept from their loved ones.
Who is
@salman_alodah
?
This past Sunday,
@salman_alodah
was escorted in chains to a secret hearing as part of the sham trial against him.
The hearing was recessed quickly and the next hearing was scheduled for July - 4 months from now.
#FreedomFirst
Hi
@anthonyjoshua
.
I was at the UK Embassy in
#Saudi
when you trained there in 2019 (I was on travel ban then). You blocked off half the embassy & wouldn’t let people even look at you. Dips said you insisted training there due to security concerns.
How’s that “on the streets”?!
7/ Anthony Joshua, who is taking on Oleksander Usyk in the main event, declined to comment about the recent 34-year sentence against women’s rights activist Salma al-Shehab, instead saying he preferred to avoid “negative” talk.
350-71! 🎉
HR 1392 - The Protection of
#Saudi
Dissidents Act passed out of House!!!! Congrats to Rep
@GerryConnolly
and thank you to each of the 350 house members who stood for human rights.
An interview from 2014 with women’s rights activist Salma Al-Shehab (
@I_Salma1988
), here she speaks about how
#Saudi
could be united by reading. The mother of two was sentenced to 34 years in jail on Monday in
#SaudiArabia
.
#FreeSalma
#الحرية_لسلمى_الشهاب
She’d cry & protest each mornin going to school in
#Saudi
, but I had no control, dad was her male guardian. At 4 years old; she was forced to memorize Quran, praise King & declare Saudi the best in the world. She’s in the USA now & she is SO MUCH HAPPIER.🖕🏽all who held her down.
Update: Carly Morris and her girl, both US citizens, were lured to
#SaudiArabia
in 2019 and trapped. Now, Carly has been placed on a travel ban with her services suspended per request of Saudi police. She cannot exit the country or access money.
Her “crime”: asking for help.
🚨 NEW: US citizen Carly Morris has been summoned in
#SaudiArabia
on charges of "disrupting public order." She risks being detained.
Morris & her 8-year-old daughter have been trapped in Saudi Arabia since 2019 due to oppressive male guardianship laws.
Officially submitted Chapter 3 of my PhD dissertation. This was one of my favorite quotes from the interviews in Saudi from a 67 year old man from Riyadh. Now working on finishing up Chapter 4 on Law & Practice under authoritarian rule in the Saudi context.
Nerdy nerding. 🤓
So inspired by this strong woman and her incredible fight for freedom & justice her brother Abdulrahman AlSadhan in
#Saudi
. For years, this family has been through hell, and it’s torture that they didn’t deserve.
In the presence of greatness with
@AreejASadhan
. ❤️
#freeSadhan
The court opinion ruling Saudi in violation of human rights in our case also mentioned witness of
@HorakDennis
,
@Hala_Aldosari
and
@aalodah
and Zaina’s auntie. I also have
@abo1fares
to thank. You all gave my baby a chance, and I’m forever grateful for your fight for her.
Politically motivated travel bans against family members & peaceful dissidents violate so many
#Saudi
domestic & international laws. It’s a form of cruel & inhumaine treatment & punishment.
Some 18,000-68,000+ individuals are estimated to be on political travel bans in
#Saudi
.
Around this time last year, I logged into my Absher account & saw that I had been placed on a 10-year travel ban out of
#Saudi
Arabia. No trial, no warning, no service of process...nothing.
I’m a US citizen, by the way.
When people tell you that Saudi is lawless, please listen.
Hey
@Paul_Casey
. I am a mother of a
#Saudi
child & work with battered women & children in Saudi. You mentioned being wrong before on Saudi & cite children’s rights issues & the CRC. Int’l human rights law is my field & I’d like to clarify some things. 1/8
Thank you so much to
@USCIRF
for highlighting Salma Al-Shehab’s horrific 34-year jail sentence in
#SaudiArabia
, they reiterate she is “imprisoned for her women’s rights activism…as well as her religious identity”:
#freesalma
Two years later and how far we’ve come from being trapped in
#SaudiArabia
, illegal, bank account frozen & so scared.
Grateful for
@NYTBen
’s reporting on this, without it we would have remained in dire circumstances in that broken & discriminatory system.
Thrilled to support my colleagues at
@DAWNmenaorg
as they bring to life the dream of the slain
@JKhashoggi
. I’m looking forward to collaborating in your push for justice for Jamal & the MENA region at large. Mabrouk
@sarahleah1
@aalodah
& DAWN team!
#saudi
The torture that Abdulrahman al-sadhan endured left clear permanent physical disfigurement. His lengthy jail sentence & disappearance compared to other similar cases should only be understood as the
#Saudi
authorities trying to hide the torture they inflict on detainees.
AlJabri describes MBS as a “murderer & psychopath with no empathy.”
It Checks out: MBS’s legacies include drug problems, a coup, jailing family, domestic violence, the Ritz Carlton, Khashoggi’s murder, jailing & torturing human rights activists. List goes on.
#مقابلة_سعد_الجبري
“I am here to sound the alarm about a psychopath, killer, in the Middle East with infinite resources, who poses threat to his people, to the Americans and to the planet,” says former Saudi spy Saad Aljabri about Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
So happy to see this. More on yesterday’s historic announcement, uniting several within the Saudi diaspora under the founding of the National Assembly Party, which calls for democracy and human rights for all in
#Saudi
Arabia.
#حزب_التجمع_الوطني
LoL! So-called investigative journalist
@halgawi
accusing me of being a spy in Saudi 😂🤦🏻♀️
A) ever heard of a defamation lawsuit?
B) Not wise to accuse US govt of illegally having undeclared “spies” in Saudi.
C) To US investors: invest in
#Saudi
& this could easily be you too.
Sad to learn that Mohammed AlRabiah was sentenced to 6 (more) years in prison today. He was detained in 2018 alongside women’s rights defenders
@LoujainHathloul
& Aziza Al-Yousef in
#Saudi
.
He has 30 days to appeal. Please continue to call for his freedom.
#الحريه_لمحمد_الربيعه
After almost 2 years trapped in
#Saudi
& applying for emergency leave, I finally return to my dream - I start my last year of my PhD in intl human rights law at
@NUIGLaw
with the
@IrishCentreHR
.
Its been 2 years since I had a chapter deadline & I’m so grateful to be back at it!
Just so people understand how wonderful of a person
#FreeSalma
was, she had submitted an application in December of 2020 to adopt an orphaned girl in
#SaudiArabia
.
Not only is this 34 year sentence robbing her sons of their mother, but it is keeping a girl an orphan in Saudi.
6 years ago today, Zaina made me a mommy: the most difficult but most rewarding role.
Happy Birthday to my spunky, intelligent, sassy little warrior! May you continue to live a life full of love, wonder and joy - and may you remain safe, happy, healthy and free. ❤️
We may be living in no man’s land...but at least we have each other, the view is beautiful, and for the moment we are free.
After the last couple years of hell in Saudi for us; these moments are such a gift. 🤍
2 years ago was the soft opening for the yoga studio I founded in Riyadh. I loved my community at OZ Yoga, but
#Saudi
is an absolute disaster for foreign investors. Got arrested, harassed, lost my girl, & now facing charges of being “against the govt” 🤦🏻♀️ DO NOT INVEST IN SAUDI!
To the many who are exhausted from the fight against injustice, never forget that your fight matters. The choice to do what is right may be tiring, sometimes that choice may even seem insignificant, but the ripple effects of justice can give hope for many to endure another day.
2 years ago today, my life fell apart. Lost my baby in
#Saudi
cuz I was “western” & “working” as her sole provider (same as today). Enter in arrest warrants & a 10-year-travel ban. I was in Hell in Riyadh.
We are in the US & thriving now.
Hold onto hope…
When Carly sought help from
@USAinKSA
, staff reportedly informed her that she “may be able to take her daughter with her if she goes to jail”. Tala is just a little girl.
How is this “protecting US citizens abroad” and “prioritizing human rights”?
@StateDeptSpox
@POTUS
Concerning development on US citizen Carly Morris & her girl who are trapped in
#SaudiArabia
. Police summoned Carly & informed she is facing charges for “disrupting public order”,
#Saudi
prosecutor is reportedly seeking to put her jail. Hearing is Sunday.
A little song for my daughter in honor of today’s
#G20SaudiArabia
. 😌
May she never have to live the hell of being subject to male guardianship laws in
#Saudi
again.
“You can call for women’s rights without them arresting you...you’re free, be who you wanna be.”
Just preordered
@LoujainHathloul
Dreams of Sunflowers by my friends/colleagues
@LinaAlhathloul
and
@umajmishra
for my daughter Zaina. So wonderful to have a positive, honest and age-appropriate story of a
#Saudi
hero for my girl to read about.
Thank you all for this. 🤍
Salma reported being verbally abused, discriminated against and subject to cruel treatment during interrogation and detention by Saudi authorities. The judiciary, despite her requesting investigation, refused to act. 💔
#FreeSalma
#الحرية_لسلمى_الشهاب
1/ HRF calls on
#SaudiArabia
to repeal its oppressive male guardianship laws and to allow women to enjoy basic liberties without needing permission from their male "guardians."
My heart is breaking over the loss of our colleague
@alaa_q
, who was taken before she obtained the justice she had been so eloquently fighting for. It’s our responsibility to continue to fight for freedom for her father & victims of violations in her honor.
Rest in power 🤍
With deep sadness ALQST mourns the sudden death of its loved and respected Executive Director Alaa Al-Siddiq
@alaa_q
on Saturday, 19 June 2021.
May she Rest In Power.
#آلاء_الصديق_في_ذمة_الله
Mohamed AlRabiah detained in
#Saudi
In 2018 at court today was transferred to the Specialized Criminal Court where he will face terrorism charges & they asked for 25 years.
He’s there for voicing support for women’s rights! 2 weeks til next hearing!
Cc:
@SenFeinstein
@StateDept
The incredible
@LoujainHathloul
with unwavering courage & love, publicly defends her brave & relentless sister
@LinaAlhathloul
against imbecile troll attacks after the family has been victim of a coordinated smear campaign in
#saudi
.
This tweet, this woman, is brave as hell.🤍🔥
Finally free & so excited to share the results of the surveys & interviews conducted while I was living in
#Saudi
. Especially grateful to honor the silenced voices of the several hundreds of brave individuals I had the opportunity to hear from.
Keep fighting for your rights. 🤍5
A million thanks to these members of congress for standing up for women’s rights in
#SaudiArabia
. Letter calls for the release of WHRDs and end of travel bans, abolishing male guardianship & kafala systems, and ending discrimination against women in law & practice.
@thefreedomi
Three years ago the Saudi government unjustly arrested several women’s rights activists.
@Ilhan
,
@RepSchakowsky
, &
@RepSpeier
joined me in leading 32 members in a letter to
@POTUS
calling for equality for Saudi women and defending their human rights.
On this day 3 years ago,
#Saudi
authorities arrested writer Abdullah AlMalki. “Sentenced” to 7 years in jail for supporting human rights, ACPRA & possession of banned books.
He is one of many who remain behind bars for wanting better for the people of
#Saudi
.
#SaudiStyleReform
في مثل هذا اليوم 12 سبتمبر 2017 قامت السلطات السعودية باعتقال الكاتب #عبدالله_المالكي وحكم عليه بالسجن لمدة 7 سنوات والتهم:
- نشاطه الثقافي، والذي يتضمن دفاعه عن حقوق الانسان.
- حيازة كتب غير مصرحة.
- دعم أعضاء جمعية حسم.
#معتقلو_سبتمبر
#StandWithSaudiHeroes
Arab
#MothersDay
Zaina made me a mama in
#Saudi
, but she also gave me the strength to end the cycle of abuse.
Proud to have fought for her to have the opportunity to be a judge, politician or feminist; to freely love & believe & to be considered an equal to a man under the law.
Thank you to
@StateDeptSpox
for condemning the unjust sentencing of Abdulrahman al-Sadhan in
#Saudi
- including the violation of due process. So incredibly inspired and proud of Abdulrahman’s bravery in court. He is a hero, like his sister
@AreejASadhan
Perhaps in an awkward attempt to avoid the “bloody handshake” controversy, the United States president
@potus
instead extends to
#MBS
a greeting commonly offered to small children in America: a fist bump.
#BidenVisitSaudiArabia
#SaudiArabia
Hi
@SenFeinstein
, we appreciate your past inquiries on Abdulrahman Alsadhan, who remains detained in
#Saudi
. He hasn’t been heard from in a year. Please read the heartbreaking pleas from his family, your constituents. More must be done.
#WhereIsSadhan
The
@amnesty
Ambassador of conscience
@aliciakeys
in
#Saudi
shortly after MBS found complicit in the murder of Jamal, while
@LoujainHathloul
is fighting terrorism charges on travel ban & human rights defenders are in jail.
If you’re still there, bring them back home with you. 💔
MBS claims “human rights & freedom of speech” is being used to “justify hate speech & extremism”. This is a dangerous & desperate move from a dictator.
Brace yourselves for madness to come. I URGE congress & G20 officials to call for an end to this authoritarian circus.
#Saudi
عاجل..
الأمير محمد بن سلمان:
خطاب الكراهية هو الدافع الرئيسي لتجنيد المتطرفين وأن ذلك يشمل خطاب الكراهية الذي يستخدم حرية التعبير وحقوق الانسان كمبرر.
#تصريح_ولي_العهد
Devastated for Carly Morris, the US citizen who was lured to
#SaudiArabia
by her ex-husband with her daughter then entrapped there. 4 difficult years, a wrongful detention & she just landed in the US without her daughter after being stripped of custody.💔
😂 this is hilarious 😂 Is this the written notice for termination of contract for the
#Saudi
Twitter propaganda bots?
One edit...the photo should be of a fly, not a bird.
Did you see this
@oamaz7
? 😆
وقف المغرد السعودي مع وطنه في السراء والضراء موقفاً مشرفاً، مسطراً مع إخوانه في وسائل الإعلام السعودية أعظم الوقفات فله كل الشكر والتقدير على كل كلمة أو عبارة كتبها، للذود عن وطنه وقادته في وجه كل حاقد أو جاحد أو مرتزق، وسيبقى سلماً لمن سالم وطنه وقادته، وحرباً على كل من يحاربهم.
If the
#Saudi
govt wants to shift its ugly violations - Loujain must be unconditionally released, all charges dropped & no travel ban. Anything else tomorrow would be yet another disgraceful shame for the country.
So much love & courage to
@LoujainHathloul
& her brave family.