Who is Manahel Al-Otaibi? Who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for wearing clothes against the rules of Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, notorious for its anti-women laws, is once again in the news. Manhail Al-Otaabi, a fitness trainer and women's rights activist, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Saudi Arabia sentenced fitness trainer and women's rights activist Manhail al-Otaibi on January 9. Saudi officials confirmed this in a statement to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Manhel was arrested about one and a half years ago for allegedly wearing indecent clothes and making statements on women's rights.

Manhel's case was then heard in secret in an anti-terrorism court. Manhail has been convicted on charges related to Saudi anti-terrorism laws.

According to the BBC report, Manahel al-Otaibi was arrested in November 2022. She has been raising her voice for women's rights. She often advocated for greater rights for women on social media. Their main demand was relaxation in dress code for women, they protested against wearing Abaya.

Let us tell you that in the last two years, Saudi Arabia has sentenced dozens of people to jail for posting content on social media. Most of them are women.

Amnesty International and the London-based Al-Kaste organization say Manhel faced severe ill-treatment for speaking out on women's rights.

According to reports, Manahel was one of the early supporters of the social and economic reforms announced by Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2017. Two years after Mohammed bin Salman announced the reforms, Manhail gave an interview to German outlet DW in which he said he believed anyone could wear whatever they wanted and express their views freely. Is.

Manhel said in the same interview that his stance was based on the Crown Prince's statement that he had the right to dress as he liked, but that dress should be dignified. Manahel is accused of taking part in a social media campaign against Saudi Arabia's laws, posting photos and videos of herself in indecent clothing and sharing photos on Snapchat of herself visiting stores without wearing an abaya.

Under Saudi Arabia's patriarchal law, a woman's father, brother, husband or son has the right to make important decisions about her marriage, divorce and children.

According to reports, Manahel's sister Fauzia also faces similar allegations, but when she was called for questioning, she fled the country.