Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Jun 01, 2025

Saudi police release US mother arrested for 'destabilising public order'

Saudi police release US mother arrested for 'destabilising public order'

An American woman who says she and her eight-year-old daughter are trapped in Saudi Arabia has been released from jail, two days after she was arrested on the charge of "destabilising public order".
Carly Morris told the BBC last month that her Saudi ex-husband had persuaded her to visit the country with Tala in 2019, so that his parents could meet their granddaughter. The two had married in the United States a few years earlier when he was studying there, but later divorced.

Ms Morris, a Muslim convert, claimed that soon after she arrived, her ex-husband obtained Saudi citizenship for Tala without consulting her.

This meant that under Saudi Arabia's male guardianship laws, the child could not leave the country without his permission. Although her daughter has American citizenship, dual nationality is not recognised in Saudi Arabia.

For the last three years, Ms Morris been engaged in a custody battle with her ex-husband. Throughout this time, she has lived with Tala in a Saudi hotel, where she says she has been dependent on him for food and financial support.

She said she rarely leaves the hotel and few people have seen her face since she began staying there several years ago.

Ms Morris claimed that at one point, her former partner abducted their daughter after learning that she had been appealing for international help to bring Tala back to the United States - a charge he denied when the matter came before a Saudi court.

The judge ruled that Tala should be returned to her mother, but told Ms Morris that she must not leave the Saudi city she lives in, never mind take her daughter back to the US.

The BBC approached Carly's ex-husband for comment about the case last month, but he did not respond.

Ms Morris's mother in California has repeatedly voiced her concerns over her daughter and granddaughter's plight, and what she believes is the lack of help from US embassy staff.

Denise White, who said she spoke to Ms Morris on Wednesday, was shocked to hear of her daughter's recent arrest following her public calls for help in media reports and on Twitter.

Ms Morris told her that she was summoned on Monday to a police station in Buraydah, a city about 320km (200 miles) north-west of Riyadh, on the grounds that there was a problem with her ex-husband's identity card.

When she protested that this was nothing to do with her, police said she needed to attend a meeting there because her daughter was listed on the card.

About an hour after she arrived at the station, her ex-husband walked in and talked with police officers. A short while later, Ms Morris was told that she was under arrest.

Mrs White said her frightened daughter had told her that during her stay in jail, she was stripped by jail staff, handcuffed and her legs were shackled. Her daughter did not know why she had been arrested or when she would be freed.

Ms Morris told her mother that after being released in the early hours of Wednesday morning, she was reunited with Tala, who had been placed in the temporary care of her ex-husband.

Mrs White said her daughter's joy at this was tempered by what she found on returning to their self-catering hotel room. The little food they had in their fridge and freezer had been removed. Tala's clothes were also gone, leaving her without pyjamas or anything else to wear.

Ms Morris also mentioned to her mother that a mysterious security camera placed outside her door, the only one she had seen in any of the hotel's corridors, has also vanished. Somebody, she thinks, clearly did not think she and Tala would be coming back for a very long time.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
EU Central Bank Pushes to Replace US Dollar with Euro as World’s Main Currency
European and Arab Ministers Convene in Madrid to Address Gaza Conflict
Head of Gaza Aid Group Resigns Amid Humanitarian Concerns
U.S. Health Secretary Ends Select COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations
Trump Warns Putin Is 'Playing with Fire' Amid Escalating Ukraine Conflict
India and Pakistan Engage Trump-Linked Lobbyists to Influence U.S. Policy
U.S. Halts New Student Visa Interviews Amid Enhanced Security Measures
Trump Administration Cancels $100 Million in Federal Contracts with Harvard
SpaceX Starship Test Flight Ends in Failure, Mars Mission Timeline Uncertain
King Charles Affirms Canadian Sovereignty Amid U.S. Statehood Pressure
Iranian Revolutionary Guard Founder Warns Against Trusting Regime in Nuclear Talks
Netanyahu Accuses Starmer of Siding with Hamas
Calls Grow to Resume Syrian Asylum Claims in UK
UAE Offers Free ChatGPT Plus Subscriptions to Citizens
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Iranian Director Jafar Panahi Wins Palme d'Or at Cannes
Israeli Airstrike Kills Nine Children of Gaza Doctor
Lebanon Initiates Plan to Disarm Palestinian Factions
Iran and U.S. Make Limited Progress in Nuclear Talks
Trump Administration's Tariff Policies and Dollar Strategy Spark Global Economic Debate
OpenAI Acquires Jony Ive’s Startup for $6.5 Billion to Build a Revolutionary “Third Core Device”
Turkey Weighs Citizens in Public as Erdoğan Launches National Slimming Campaign
UK Suspends Trade Talks with Israel Amid Gaza Offensive
Iran and U.S. Set for Fifth Round of Nuclear Talks Amid Rising Tensions
Russia Expands Military Presence Near Finland Amid Rising Tensions
Indian Scholar Arrested in Crackdown Over Pakistan Conflict Commentary
Israel Eases Gaza Blockade Amid Internal Dispute Over Military Strategy
President Biden’s announcement of advanced prostate cancer sparked public sympathy—but behind closed doors, Democrats are in panic
Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki Erupts Again, Spewing Ash Cloud over Flores Island
Indian jet shootdown: the all-robot legion behind China’s PL-15E missiles
The Chinese Dragon: The True Winner in the India-Pakistan Clash
Australia's Venomous Creatures Contribute to Life-Saving Antivenom Programme
The Spanish Were Right: Long Working Hours Harm Brain Function
Did Former FBI Director Call for Violence Against Trump? Instagram Post Sparks Uproar
US and UAE Partner to Develop Massive AI Data Center Complex
Apple's $95 Million Siri Settlement: Eligible Users Have Until July 2 to File Claims
US and UAE Reach Preliminary Agreement on Nvidia AI Chip Imports
President Trump and Elon Musk Welcomed by Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim with Cybertruck Convoy
Strong Warning Issued: Do Not Use General Chatbots for Medical, Legal, or Educational Guidance
NVIDIA and Saudi Arabia Launch Strategic Partnership to Establish AI Centers
Trump Meets Syrian President Ahmad al-Shara in Historic Encounter
US and Saudi Arabia Sign Landmark Agreements Across Multiple Sectors
Why Saudi Arabia Rolled Out a Purple Carpet for Donald Trump Instead of Red
Elon Musk Joins Trump Meeting in Saudi Arabia
Trump says it would be 'stupid' not to accept gift of Qatari plane
Quantum Computing Threatens Bitcoin Security
Michael Jordan to Serve as Analyst for NBA Games
×