Jailed Saudi Princess Basmah Publicly Pleads for Release
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A prominent Saudi princess jailed without charges has made an extraordinary public appeal for her release, telling the king and the crown prince that she is in fragile health in prison.
Princess Basmah bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, an outspoken human rights advocate, issued her appeal via Twitter in a rare public exposure of the turmoil within the Saudi royal family, The Times reported.
The plea, addressed to the de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his father King Salman, is the first statement Princess Basmah has made since she was detained in March last year.
“I was abducted without explanation together with one of my daughters and thrown into prison,” she wrote. She begged Saudi Arabia’s king and the crown prince “to release me as I have done no wrong.”
By Friday, that plea had been deleted.
The reason for her arrest was not clear, but it appeared to fit a pattern of Saudi Arabia’s government punishing prominent citizens who had publicly deviated from the government’s line.
Her detention was one of two new cases of Saudi royals locked up during the rise of the kingdom’s de facto ruler, the Crown Prince.
Last month, Prince Faisal bin Abdullah, also a child of a Saudi king, was detained, leaving his family with no idea why he was taken or where he is being held, according to three associates of his family.
