Saudi Princess Basmah, daughter released after nearly three years in jail

A princess and her daughter are free after nearly three years of detention in Saudia Arabia, according to a report.

Princess Basmah Bint Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 57, a member of the royal family, and her daughter, Souhoud Al-Sharif, went missing in March 2019, according to Reuters.

She claimed in a series of tweets that they were being held captive in Al-Ha’ir Prison, a maximum-security facility outside the capital city of Riyadh.

“The two ladies were released from their arbitrary imprisonment and arrived at their home in Jeddah on Thursday,” Henri Estramant, her lawyer, said. “The princess is doing fine but will be seeking medical expertise. … She seems worn out but is in good spirits and thankful to reunite with her sons in person.”

Al Saud’s family, in a 2020 United Nations petition seen by Reuters, said she may have been detained “as an outspoken critic of abuses in our country of birth, but likewise for … enquiring about the frozen fortune left [by] her father.”

She is the youngest child of the deceased King Saud.