Saudi Arabia confirms a fitness influencer received an 11-year sentence over ‘terrorist offenses’

Published May 1, 2024 3:48 AM

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — Saudi Arabia has confirmed in a letter to the United Nations that a female fitness instruction popular online received an 11-year prison sentence over unspecified “terrorism offenses.” The kingdom has insisted the case had nothing to do with her online presence but human rights activists say the conviction levied against Manahel al-Otaibi shows the limits of expression in Saudi Arabia. It also highlights another side of the kingdom, now run day-to-day by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who under his 88-year-old father King Salman has dramatically liberalized some aspects of women’s lives in the country.

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