Case History: Souad Al- Shammary

Human rights defender Ms Souad Al- Shammary spent a second week in detention since she was arrested on 28 October 2014, while attending an interrogation session at the Bureau of Investigation in Jeddah.

She was detained for “further questioning” and subsequently transferred to the women’s section at the General Prison of Briman, in Jeddah, where she is currently being held.

Souad Al- Shammary is a prominent activist who advocates for women's rights and is well-known for her opposition to the country’s guardianship system which subordinates women’s autonomy to the authority of male guardians. She is the head of the Saudi Liberal Network and a member of the Arab Coalition for Freedom and Democracy.

Souad Al- Shammary was interrogated for four hours as a result of tweets that she sent over a year ago, after a number of clergy filed a complaint against her. The authorities in Saudi Arabia considered that those tweets incited women to oppose the guardianship system. At the end of the interrogation, Souad Al- Shammary was informed by the General Prosecutor that she would be detained for further questioning. The human rights defender faces charges relating to “using sarcasm while mentioning religious texts and scholars”, “calling for women's liberation”, and “demanding the end of male guardianship over women”.

In 2011, Souad Al- Shammary was prosecuted by authorities for her activism. She was forced to retire from her post as a headmistress at a girls' school in Jeddah in relation to her work in the defence of women's rights. It was reported that she was further denied her retirement benefits. In 2013, she was banned from travelling after a number of religious clergy in Riyadh brought a case against her in February of the same year. Upon her request, the case was transferred in September 2014 from Riyadh to the Bureau of Investigation and Prosecution in Jeddah, her place of residence. It is not confirmed whether her current detention is linked to this earlier case.

Front Line Defenders expresses its concern at the pattern of intimidation and harassment against Souad Al- Shammary. It is believed that her detention is solely related to her legitimate and peaceful human rights activities promoting and protecting women's rights in Saudi Arabia. Front Line Defenders is further concerned at the increasing prosecution of human rights defenders and the harsh sentences that they face as well as cases of corporal punishment against human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia, including Mr. Waleed Abu Al-Khair, Mr. Raif Badawi, Mr. Mikhlif Al-Shammari, Mr. Fadel Mekki Al-Manasef.