Princess of Saudi Arabia freed after three years in prison for unknown reasons!

Saudi authorities have released a princess and her daughter who had been detained without charge for nearly three years, her legal advisor said on Saturday. Princess Basmah Bint Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 57, a prominent businesswoman and rights advocate, and her adult daughter Souhoud Al-Sharif went missing in March of this year.

Her legal advisor Henri Estramant said the two ladies were released from arbitrary detention and arrived at their home in Jeddah on Thursday, January 6, 2022. According to Estramant, Princess Eugenie is doing fine but will seek medical attention. Despite being exhausted, she appeared to be in good spirits and grateful to see her sons again. The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Saudi government has never publicly commented on the case.

Through her social media channels in 2020, Princess Basmah said that she had been held in Riyadh for more than a year and was sick. Princess Basmah, the youngest child of the late King Saud, has been critical of the treatment of women in the kingdom. Around the time of her arrest in late February 2019, she was scheduled to travel abroad for medical treatment. According to a close relative, she was informed after her arrest that she was accused of forging a passport.

According to the relative, the charges were dropped later, but she remained imprisoned with her daughter at the time. Reuters was unable to independently verify Basmah’s disappearance and detention after reading her social media posts about her detention. She had been held in Al-Ha’ir prison. According to sources, her arrest could also be linked to the detention of Saudi royals and prominent citizens following the consolidation of power by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This could be a campaign to suppress dissent, including women’s rights activists.

In a petition to the United Nations, dated March 5 2020 and seen by Reuters, the princess’s family suggested her detention might be linked to her role as a ‘outspoken critic of abuses in our country of birth, as well as inquiring about the frozen fortune’ left to her by her father.