DUBAI-(MaraviPost)-Activists and lawyers has condemned the court verdict on doctoral student Salma al-Shehab in Saudi Arabia who was handed down 34 years jail term for retweeting views from dissidents.

The harsh sentence follows an appeal on the initial sentence of six years that was handed down earlier this month.

The Washington State Department expressed its condemnation in the sentence adding that exercising freedom of expression to advocate for the rights of women should not be criminalized anywhere in the world.

The department disclosed that it was studying the case and will soon intervene with appropriate action, AFP reported.

According to the prosecutor handling the case, the initial 6 year prison sentence was minor in view of her crimes, hence the need to amend the sentence in light of her support for those who are trying to cause disorder and destabilize society.

The mother of two and a researcher at Leeds University in her final year of doctoral studies was arrested in 2021 while on holiday in the kingdom after she allegedly followed and retweeted dissident accounts on Twitter and allegedly transmitted false rumors.

During the court hearing, al-Shehab admitted to retweeting the said posts but added that she retweeted from a personal account with no more than 2,000 followers simply out of curiosity to observe others people’s viewpoints.

The legal documents obtained by The Associated Press shows that Al-Shehab told judges she was also jailed for over 285 days before her case was referred to court.

Other Freedom activists who described described al-Shehab as a member of Saudi Arabia’s Shiite Muslim minority said the accused was handed down the sentenced due to her origins which has long complained of systematic discrimination in the Sunni-ruled kingdom.