Imprisonment of Human Rights Activist Manahel al-Otaibi

That the Parliament understands that Manahel al-Otaibi is reportedly serving what it considers to be an unjust 11-year prison sentence in Saudi Arabia for social media posts in support of women’s rights; expresses grave concern that Manahel has reportedly been subject to physical abuse and sexual harassment in prison and has not been able to access appropriate medical care; welcomes the work done by Amnesty International, including the organisation's Edinburgh Central branch, to campaign for her release and calls on the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to check on Manahel’s welfare; believes that her imprisonment is what it considers to be an example of the Saudi Arabian state’s hostility to and mistreatment of women’s rights activists and human rights activists more generally, with Fawzia al-Otaibi also reportedly facing similar charges; understands that, since 2013, Amnesty International has documented the cases of 86 individuals which it reports have been prosecuted solely for exercising their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly, including human rights defenders, peaceful political activists, journalists, poets and religious officials, with the organisation warning that the actual number of such prosecutions is likely to be much higher, and calls on the government of Saudi Arabia to release Manahel and all other people who have reportedly been imprisoned for speaking out on human rights.