Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Local sources: The Israeli force, which crossed into southern rural Damascus, has reached the town of Qatana, located just 10 kilometers from the Syrian capital
Local sources: An Israeli ground unit, comprising more than 15 military and armored vehicles, carried out an incursion into southern rural Damascus from the occupied Syrian Golan
Belgian court orders regional government to stop military exports to Israel, Belga reports
Latin Patriarchate in occupied al-Quds: The Holy Family Church in Gaza was subjected to Israeli shelling, resulting in injuries, including Father Gabriele Romanelli
Al Mayadeen’s correspondent in France: Georges Abdallah’s lawyer has officially informed him of the court’s decision granting his release
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One was martyred in a raid that targeted the town of Kfour, Nabatieh District
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: One was martyred in an Israeli drone strike that targeted a truck in the town of Naqoura
Defense Attorney: Lebanese activist George Ibrahim Abdallah will be released on July 25
Georges Abdallah's defense attorney: The decision to release Lebanese activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah will be issued in a few minutes
The French judiciary decided to release Lebanese activist Georges Ibrahim Abdallah after 41 years of detention

Saudi Princess released after three years of no trial or charges

  • By Al Mayadeen net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 9 Jan 2022 12:53
4 Min Read

Basmah bint Saud has been in prison along with her daughter for 3 years with no charge or trial.

  • x
  • Saudi Princess freed
    Saudi Princess Basmah bint Saud in Washington on April 2017 (AFP)

According to a human rights group on Saturday, Princess Basmah bint Saud, 57, has been released along with her daughter, by Saudi authorities.

The Princess is a member of the royal family and has been imprisoned, along with her daughter, since 2019 with no trial or charge.

Alqst for Human Rights tweeted the news of the release.

BREAKING: Basma bint Saud Al Saud and her daughter Suhoud, detained since March 2019, have been released. pic.twitter.com/tTsh6kPgzE

— ALQST for Human Rights (@ALQST_En) January 8, 2022

While imprisoned in April 2020, the Saudi King and Crown Prince were urged to release her due to her life-threatening medical issues. According to ALQST, the Princess was denied medical attention and at no time during her arrest did she face any charges.

Requests for comments went unanswered by Saudi officials and details of her health condition remain unclear.

According to a source close to the family, Princess Basmah was arrested just before a scheduled journey to Switzerland for medical treatment.

The Princess' family filed an appeal with UN specialists at the Human Rights Council in July seeking intervention in her case and stating that her treatment "may amount to torture."

Since Bin Salman's appointment in 2017 and an alleged reform, Saudi authorities have clamped down on dissidents and prospective opponents, including women's rights activists and advocates and some members of the royal family.

Related News

Erdogan, Bin Salman back Syria in phone call with Al-Sharaa

MBS says Islamic world backs Iran in call with Pezeshkian

An outspoken critic

In a written statement to the UN in 2020, the Princess' family stated that her arrest was likely due to her "record as an outspoken critic of abuses."

Speaking to BBC Arabic in 2018, Princess Basmah accused Prince Mohammed, albeit without naming him, of refusing to accept those who did not support his overhaul plans, known as Vision 2030.

“He has a vision, Vision 2030, and I see that in that vision, there is a direction toward a type of isolation of all those who do not agree with that vision,” she said.

She is also regarded as an ally of Mohammed bin Nayef, the previously designated heir to the throne. During an anti-corruption drive in November 2017, dozens of princes and officials who were accused of claimed "bribery or treason" were imprisoned in the Ritz-Carlton hotel for 3 months.

MBS' "vision" with his own blood

Some detainees have been released, but many others face a lot of restrictions, including being barred from traveling abroad, apparently because the government fears they could discuss their cases with foreign journalists or representatives of other governments.

The most prominent is Mohammed bin Nayef, a former interior minister whom Prince Mohammed ousted as crown prince in 2017 to claim the title for himself.

After his removal, Mohammed bin Nayef was put under house arrest until March 2020, when he was arrested and detained.

At the start of his detention, Mohammed bin Nayef was held in solitary confinement, deprived of sleep, and suspended upside down by his ankles, according to two people briefed on his situation, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

Last fall, he was moved to a villa inside the complex surrounding the King’s Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, the capital, where he remains, the people said.

Mohammed bin Nayef is kept by himself with no television or other electronic devices and receives only limited visits from his family, the people said. He appears to have sustained lasting damage to his ankles from his treatment in detention and cannot walk without a cane.

No formal charges against him were filed up till this very moment and no one even explained why he is detained. Most Saudi experts assume that it is because Prince Mohammed fears he could impede MBS' quest to become the next Saudi king.

  • Mohammed Bin Salman
  • Saudi Arabia

Most Read

An Israeli soldier abandons an excavator during an ambush by al-Qassam Brigades. Arabic text reads "The moment the soldier fled", July, 10, 2025 (Al Qassam Military Media)

Israeli media rue al-Qassam footage, alarmed by fighters among troops

  • Politics
  • 11 Jul 2025
This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after an Iranian attack at the al Udeid Airbase outside of Doha, Qatar, June 25, 2025 (Planet Labs PBC via AP)

Satellite images show Iran attack damaged US comms dome in Qatari base

  • Politics
  • 11 Jul 2025
Credible reports, including some from Israeli media itself, indicate that Tel Aviv had pinned its hopes on what can only be described as a delusional plan. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)

Jebraily: Iran strikes rewrote regional deterrence rules - Exclusive

  • MENA
  • 15 Jul 2025
Algerian nurse stabbed in Germany

Murder of Algerian nurse in Germany sparks outcry, demands for justice

  • Europe
  • 14 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
George Abdallah: Europe's longest-held political prisoner to be freed
Politics

George Abdallah: Europe's longest-held political prisoner to be freed

A still from the video released by al-Qassam Brigades, which reads, "Captivity is better than death", on July 17, 2025 (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)
Politics

Al-Qassam releases video warning Israelis: Captivity better than death

Georges Abdallah attends his trial in Lyon on July 3, 1986 (Social Media)
Politics

'A symbol for every prisoner': Hezbollah hails Georges Abdallah

Plume of smoke rise following an Israeli airstrike on the southern Lebanese town of Qabrikha, July 17, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

'Israel' kills mother, father, injures 10-year-old daughter in Lebanon

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS