Saudi Arabia sentences woman to 45 years for tweets: human rights group

Saudi Arabian authorities sentenced a woman to 45 years in prison for social media posts critical of the kingdom, according to Democracy for the Arab World Now, a human rights group founded by slain Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi.

Nourah bint Saeed al-Qahtani was convicted in the Specialized Criminal Court of "using the Internet to tear the [country's] social fabric" and "violating the public order by using social media" under Saudi Arabi's Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Cybercrime laws, per court documents reviewed by the human rights organization. 

The pro-democracy group on Tuesday said Al-Qahtani was "likely" sentenced within the last week to 45 years for expressing her views online and, according to appellate court documents, for "producing, and storing of materials impinging on public order and religious values."

Her sentence comes after Saudi courts sentenced Salma al-Shehab, a British doctoral student with two young children, to 34 years in prison earlier this month for retweeting and following human rights activists.