US woman detained in Saudi over custody dispute set free

An American woman who had publically accused her Saudi ex-husband of trapping their daughter in the kingdom under so-called guardianship laws said she was released Wednesday following a brief detention over social media posts.

Carly Morris was taken into custody on Monday and the whereabouts of her daughter, eight-year-old Tala, was unknown, according to the Washington-based Freedom Initiative, which describes itself as advocating on behalf of people wrongfully detained in the Middle East and North Africa.

But when contacted by AFP on Wednesday, Morris said she had been released overnight.

"I was released from jail late last night," she told AFP.

"They detained me for two days... over my tweets," she said.

In a voice note sent to AFP via Whatsapp, Morris said that her daughter was safe but accused her ex-husband of taking all their belongings from their hotel apartment.

"I just went to the school today to take her... she is with me now but we have absolutely no clothes, shoes," she said.

"He took everything."

Morris flew to Saudi Arabia with her daughter in the summer of 2019, hoping to spend a few weeks of quality time with the girl's father.

But soon after they landed in Riyadh, he seized their travel documents and arranged for the girl to become a Saudi citizen, ensuring he could bar her from leaving.

In September, she received a summons from Saudi prosecutors indicating she was under investigation for "disturbing public order", a development Morris believed was linked to social media posts about her case.

She was then informed that she had been placed under a travel ban, according to an electronic notice seen by AFP.

The family of Morris's ex-husband has not responded to AFP's requests for comment.

- Limited reforms -

Advocacy groups said the case highlights the power that men continue to wield over women under the kingdom's notorious guardianship laws.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto ruler, has earned plaudits for easing laws in Saudi Arabia which in the past have greatly restricted women's ability to travel and work.

Yet human rights groups note that women still require a male guardian's permission to marry, and face discrimination when it comes to divorce and custody disputes.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said at a press conference Tuesday that Washington was "aware of the reports that Ms Morris has been detained".

"Our embassy in Riyadh is very engaged on this case; they're following the situation very closely."

Morris's detention comes amid heightened tensions between Riyadh and Washington, which has strongly objected to the OPEC+ cartel's decision to cut oil production, saying it amounts to siding with Russia in the Ukraine war.

In July, several months before those cuts were approved, US President Joe Biden came under heavy criticism from human rights organisations for travelling to Jeddah and meeting with Prince Mohammed, reversing an earlier pledge to make Saudi Arabia "a pariah".

Morris's case is "yet another sign that Saudi simply does not value the US as an ally," said Allison McManus, the Freedom Initiative's director of research.

"Before we hear any more reference to Saudi's strategic partnership, we need to see an end to the abuse of American citizens. We need to see an end to the abuse of women and children whose only crime is their gender."