News - Middle East: Nearly two dozen human rights organizations have called on Saudi authorities to unconditionally release a Saudi physician and social media activist, who went missing after her arrest in the kingdom in May last year.

The 22 organizations, in a joint letter, said Lina al-Sharif has been arbitrarily detained for more than a year as a result of her activities on social media. She spent her 34th birthday at al-Ha'ir Prison, located approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of the capital Riyadh, on May 11.

The letter added that Sharif is a medical doctor in Riyadh. In late May 2021, officials from the Saudi Presidency of State Security raided her family home in Riyadh, arrested her and forcibly disappeared her for two months, until July 26 last year, when she was eventually put in Ha'ir Prison.

Prior to her arrest, Sharif was discussing Saudi politics and advocating for human rights, including women's rights, freedom of belief and freedom of expression, in the kingdom on social media.