A Saudi princess and her daughter who were arrested in March 2019 and held without any charges have been freed from a high-security jail, campaigners announced Saturday.
Princess Basmah Bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 57, is a businesswoman, rights activist and member of the Saudi royal family was detained in March 2019 as she prepared to fly to Switzerland for medical treatment.
It is not known why she was detained, and neither she nor her adult daughter Suhoud Al Sharif were charged with any crime.
In 2020 her family told the United Nations that her arrest was likely due to her “record as an outspoken critic of abuses,” the Agence France-Presse reported.
Basmah said over social media in 2020 that she had been held in Riyadh for more than a year and was sick.
Princess Basma appealed to Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to release her last April, saying she had done nothing wrong and that her health was suffering.
The princess "and her daughter Suhoud... have been released," ALQST for Human Rights said on Twitter.
"The princess is doing fine but will be seeking medical expertise," her legal adviser Henri Estramant said. The nature of her illness has never been disclosed.
