The Case of Salma al Shehab. The Handmaid's Tale is Real in Saudi Arabia

Salma Al Shehab

Richard Mellor

Afscme Local 444, retired

GED/HEO

8-19-22

The Saudi regime, in particular its leader and dismemberer in chief, Mohammed  Bin Salman, has sentenced that nasty Saudi woman Salma Al Shehab to 34 years in prison. She might get the 285 days she spent in solitary confinement knocked off the sentence if Mohammad feels generous; so she might only serve 33 years and eighty days with a bit of luck.

Unfortunately, the prosecutor in the case, a devoutly religious man no doubt outside of brothels in New York and London, “asked the court to consider other alleged crimes.”  And it appears the court agreed slapping a 34 year travel ban on Ms al Shehab. They are no slackers the Saudi judges who are, no doubt, relatives of the ruling clique but perhaps more distant ones.  "other" crimes would be, leaving home without a male companion, kissing in public, masturbating or thinking about it, reading subversive literature and feminism. I'm having a hard time getting through the Handmaid's Tale here at home and this is the real deal.

Ms Al-Shehab is a researcher at Leeds university in England and was nabbed by these great friends of the renegade US regime in Washington while visiting family in Saudi Arabia. Ms Al-Shehab has two children and I assume she was visiting them or other relatives.

Ms Al Shehab’s crimes include, “assisting those who seek to cause public unrest and destabilize civil and national security by following their Twitter accounts”

We all know how important the investors that own Twitter take the issue of democracy and women’s rights and perhaps the company will shut down the Twitter accounts of the entire Saudi regime. The problem is that one of Twitter’s major investors is the Saudi billionaire and relative of the ruling clique Prince Alwaleed bin Talal so we'll have to see.

Oh well.

If you are waiting for US sanctions to weigh heavily on the Saudi regime and its murderous ruler, you might as well wait for hell to freeze over. The US mass. media that appears to have found a new cause to champion in Ukraine that can increase profits for the fossil fuel and defense industry while weakening a competitor, is strangely quiet on the issue and is certainly not calling for sanctions. “Worker Joe” Biden just left Saudi Arabia with his tail between his legs. 

It would also seem contradictory for the US regime in Washington to come to the defense of women when it is waging a war against women at home, working class women in particular.

As for MBS, the acronym for Mohammed Bin Salmon, he is a bit hurt. “We let women drive for “f*&ks sake. What more do you want?",  he told the western media according to the Onion media outlet.