California woman released after detention in Saudi Arabia - claims she's been held there since 2019

A US woman who tweeted out an accusation that her Saudi Arabian ex-husband had trapped their daughter in the kingdom since 2019 said she was released from custody Wednesday after being detained by police.

Carly Morris, 34, was taken into custody on Monday after being summoned to a police station. The US State Department confirmed her detention.

She said she was detained for two days because of her tweets.

Morris had posted to the short-form social media platform that she and her eight-year-old daughter had been held in the kingdom 'against our will' in a hotel apartment for years.

She described the situation as 'extreme and dire,' and one in which they faced 'extended social isolation.'

She said that she and her daughter, Tala, have 'spent the past three years under these conditions and deprived of our basic human rights and our lives stolen from us.'

'For over three years I have attempted to seek help from every government office and authority. My situation has downplayed, neglected, and mishandled,' she wrote.

She warned others, 'You will be stripped of your dignity, honor, and rights. You will be placed under dehumanizing circumstances. 

'And anyone, at any point, can do anything to you, and you will not receive the desperate help that you need, and there will be no justice. In fact, you will be blamed and criminalized in return.'

Her tweets and account have since been deleted.

Carly Morris, 34, of California traveled to Saudi Arabia with her daughter in 2019 to visit the child's father - her ex-husband. She says she has been trapped there ever since, unable to bring her daughter back to the US without the express permission of the child's father

Morris has repeatedly reached out for help across social media platforms and has contacted every authority figure she can think of inside and outside of the kingdom. Her recent public tweets asking for help led to her temporary detention by authorities

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has so-called guardianship laws that deny women the right to travel of work without the permission of a man. For that reason, Morris's legal position in attempting to bring her daughter home is tenuous

When contacted early Wednesday by AFP, Morris said she 'was released from jail late last night.'

'They detained me for two days...over my tweets.'

In a voice note, she said her daughter was safe but accused her ex-husband of taking all their belongings from their hotel apartment.

'I just went to the school today to take her...she is with me now but we have absolutely no clothes, shoes'" she said.

'He took everything.'

Morris's legal case in Saudi has been difficult to navigate given the kingdom's so-called guardianship laws, which allow men the ability to wield significant control over the lives of women - including where they are able to travel.

During the summer of 2019, Morris and her daughter traveled to Saudi so the child could spend several weeks with her father. But upon arrival, she claims the pair's travel documents were taken by her ex-husband.

Morris says she has since been trapped in a battle to leave the kingdom with her daughter in tow.

Morris's mother Denise White said her daughter had previously told her she had been banned from traveling and was 'scared something is going to happen.'

'She met with the US embassy and Saudi officials, there was some kind of meeting, and during that meeting she said she felt there was no solution,' White told the Guardian.

Over the summer, Morris was awarded full custody of her daughter, but the child's father converted Tala's US citizenship into Saudi citizenship, which means the child would not be able to leave the country without his permission.

Morris has reached out to the US embassy several times, which is working on her case as Washington's relationship with Riyadh fluctuates.

Prior to the tweet storm that led to her detention, Morris had attempted to contact a number of potential sources of aid in the kingdom - including messaging the official Facebook page of Saudi Arabia over the summer.

'I am in desperate need of help,' she messaged the page.

'My daughter and I were traficked [sic] into the country.

'For over 3 years I have been held in Saudi against my will inside a hotel with my 8 year old daughter.

'Now they took her and I haven't seen her in 15 days.

'Saudi police hang up on me everytime [sic] I call saying that they don't speak English,' she wrote, her tone increasingly desperate.

'I have nobody. I am American.

'I need help fast.

'It's urgent,' she wrote. 'Please help me.'

Morris's story continues to unfold as Riyadh's relationship with Washington grows tense over OPEC+'s decision to slash the global oil supply, placing many western nations in a tenuous position as the Ukrainian war with Russia rages on

For several years, Morris says she and her daughter have been treated like captives. Her ex-husband's family periodically drops off food, water and clothing at a hotel apartment the two having been living out of 

For three years, Morris said she's been living a nightmare, claiming her ex-husband's family periodically drop off food and water 'like we are captives.'

'We go for walks. That's about the extent of it. And on top of that, I have diabetes,' she told the Middle East Eye.

'I've gone without medication for my diabetes for three years. You know, I've heard about these things happening to maids and domestic workers, but never once did I think it would happen to me.'

Morris's detention and ongoing tricky situation in the kingdom comes as tensions between Riyadh and Washington continue to oscillate.

Washington has stood in opposition to the OPEC+ cartel's decision to slash oil production, which has placed the US and many European nations in an increasingly tenuous energy position as the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on.

Prior to the OPEC+ cuts, President Joe Biden came under fire for traveling to Jeddah and meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. His actions appeared to undermine his previous position on Saudi, which he called a 'pariah' state.

US based human rights activists - including those at the Freedom Initiative - who have been following Morris's story, say she is an example of why the belief that Saudi is a key ally should be challenged.

Allison McManus of the Freedom Initiative, said the case is 'yet another sign that Saudi simply does not value the US as an ally.'

'Before we hear any more reference to Saudi's strategic partnership, we need to see an end to the abuse of American citizens. We need to see an end to the abuse of women and children whose only crime is their gender.'