John,

The Saudi Arabian government has just sentenced a young mother of two to 34 years in prison.

Her crime? Tweeting support for reform and the freedom of detained activists.

Now Salma Al-Shehab could spend the next 3 decades in prison for these tweets — but we have a chance to help her.

In two weeks Saudi will host the Global AI Summit, and dozens of prominent technologists and investors will be speaking at the event. If they join our call for Salma’s release and threaten to boycott the event, it could force the kingdom to rethink this outrageous ruling against Salma.

Tell speakers of the AI Summit: Free Salma or boycott the event

Salma, a dental hygienist and a PhD student living in the UK, was arrested in Saudi Arabia last year while on holiday. She was placed in solitary confinement for 285 days, and subjected to lengthy interrogations without legal representation. Salma is a Shia muslim — a minority group in Saudi that faces immense repression.

The charges against Salma come under the kingdom’s draconian Counter-Terrorism and Anti-Cyber Crime laws which criminalize the rights to freedom of expression.

But Salma’s case is subject to appeal in the Supreme Court, which means if we can put enough pressure on Saudi Arabia, we could see Salma freed.

Saudi Arabia cares deeply about the technology industry and seeks to be a leader in AI. Even just the threat of the world’s top AI technologists boycotting the event could send shockwaves across the royal palaces.

Add your name now and share this widely — let’s create a tidal wave of pressure to free Salma and others like her.