Jakarta –
A US woman who said she was “trapped” with her son in Saudi Arabia has been released from prison two days after being arrested on charges of “disturbing public order”.
Carly Morris told the BBC last month that her Saudi ex-husband had persuaded her to visit the country with her daughter Tala in 2019.
The reason was that her husband’s parents wanted to meet their granddaughter.
The two got married in America several years ago while her ex-husband was studying there, but they later divorced.
Morris, a convert to Islam, claims that shortly after arriving in the kingdom, her ex-husband admitted Tala had been granted Saudi citizenship, but without consulting him.
As a citizen of that country, according to Saudi guardianship law, the child cannot leave the country without her permission.
Although her daughter is a US citizen, dual citizenship is not recognized in Saudi Arabia.
For the past three years, Morris has been involved in a custody battle with her ex-husband.
Read also:
During this time, Morris lived with Tala in a hotel in Saudi Arabia. He said his son was completely dependent on him for food and financial support.
She said she rarely left the hotel and few people have seen her face since she started living there years ago.
The ex-husband ‘kidnapped’ the child
Morris claimed that, at one point, her ex-husband “kidnapped” their baby after learning Morris had requested international assistance to bring Tala back to the United States – a charge he denied when the matter went before a Saudi court.
The judge ruled that Tala should be returned to her mother, but told Morris she could not leave a Saudi city – where she lives – much less take her son back to the United States.
The BBC had tried to contact Carly Morris’ ex-husband for comment on the case last month but he did not respond.
Morris’ mother in California has repeatedly expressed her concern about the plight of her children and grandchildren, and what she believes is a lack of assistance from US embassy staff.
‘I was surprised that my son was arrested by the Saudi police’
Denise White – mother of Carly Morris, who said she spoke to Morris on Wednesday (09/11/2022), was shocked to learn of her son’s recent arrest, following his efforts to seek public assistance in the mass media and Twitter.
Morris told her that on Monday he was summoned to the police station in Buraydah, a town about 320 km from the city of Riyadh, citing problems with his ex-husband’s identity card.
When she protested that it had nothing to do with her, the police said she had to attend the meeting in that city, because her son was listed on the ID.
About an hour after she set foot at the police station, her ex-husband arrived and spoke to the police officers.
Moments later, Morris was informed that he was under arrest.
Denise White said her terrified son had told her that during her time in prison she had been stripped naked by officers, handcuffed and chained to her feet.
I don’t know why he was arrested and released
Your son doesn’t know why he was arrested or when he will be released.
Carly Morris told her mother that after being released in the early hours Wednesday morning, she was reunited with Tala, who had been temporarily placed in the care of her ex-husband.
Denise White said her son was distraught after returning to his hotel room.
The food – which wasn’t much – that they kept in their fridges and freezers was stolen. All of Tala’s clothes were also missing.
Carly Morris also told her mother that a mysterious security camera placed outside her bedroom door was missing.
Someone, Carly said, must have thought she and Tala would be back after a long time.
(it it)
