An American woman was released from custody in Saudi Arabia. Carly Morris was taken into custody for tweeting she was trying to leave the country with her daughter.

Carly Morris Taken Into Custody

According to the Freedom Initiative, Carly Morris was released early Wednesday after being taken into custody by authorities in Buraidah. The Freedom Initiative is a Washington-based advocacy group for prisoners detained wrongfully in the Middle East.

Speaking Against The Kingdom

Photo Credit: Haidan

While in custody, Morris was shackled in front of her daughter while being questioned about her tweets. Authorities were also questioning her about her conversations with the media and rights groups while she was trying to flee the kingdom with her child.

Ned Price, spokesman for the State Department confirmed Morris’s release. Diplomats from the U.S. are closely involved in the case.

Travel Ban

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the government of Saudi Arabia have been surveilling tweets from local media and citizens who speak against the practices of the government. Recently two college students and one U.S./Saudi citizen have been taken into custody or given long prison sentences over comments on Twitter.

In 2019 Morris took her daughter to Saudi Arabia to meet the family of the Saudi father. Unfortunately, what was meant to be a trip for her daughter to get to know her Saudi relatives turned for the worse when Saudi Arabia’s authorities imposed strict laws on guardianship. Eventually, a travel ban was placed upon Morris to keep her from leaving the kingdom.