However her private jet was not allowed to depart. Relatives had since had fleeting conversations with the year-old, with one claiming on Thursday that she had been guarded and appeared to be speaking under duress. She returned to the kingdom in late , assuming a role of supporter of the royal family on one hand, but in-house critic on the other.
She urged restraint in the Saudi-led war in Yemen and widespread reforms at home. Human Rights Watch HRW said the arrest fitted a clear pattern of dissenters being ruthlessly silenced by Prince Mohammed, who has methodically consolidated power since ousting his uncle Mohammed bin Nayef nearly three years ago and giving himself a clear run to the throne. He really is after everyone and women have borne the brunt of this.
We are seeing things that we never saw before in Saudi. But under the crown prince, this important space has gone. In early March, Bin Nayef and the last remaining full brother of King Salman, Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud were arrested in their homes and accused of plotting against the crown prince. Who are the Saudi royals? The royal ruling family of Saudi Arabia includes up to 15, members, including princes, who serve in an array of governing positions, at the heads of businesses and on advisory councils.
The current king, Salman, is the sixth son of Ibn Saud rule after coming to power in He has largely been a traditionalist, opposing the imposition of democracy and refusing to commute heavy punishments including prison sentences and lashes for blasphemy.
However, in recent years, it has been speculated the de facto ruler of the kingdom is his son Mohammed bin Salman, who was appointed Crown Prince in , and has spearheaded a number of reforms, including a recent change to the law to allow women to drive.
The prince also restricted the power of religious police and increased the access of women to the country's cultural arena, including concerts and soccer matches. However, Mohammed bin Salman has also been criticised for a crackdown on human rights protests, and an increase in aggressive foreign policy that saw Saudi Arabia intervene in the Yemeni civil conflict, with devastating humanitarian consequences.
Since he has also sowed division in the royal family, including a "purge" involving the seizure of assets from hundreds of members - allegedly in the name of corruption - and more recent arrests of formerly senior royals believed to oppose the Crown Prince's gathering of power. The murder of Khashoggi further called into question Prince Mohammed's reformist tendencies, though he has denied any involvement.
In , when she was 16, she tried to cross into Oman, but she was later imprisoned, tortured, and denied medical help. And as Princess Latifa explained in the video, she originally felt motivated to escape after her older sister Princess Shamsa had failed in an escape attempt of her own, after which she was placed in a palace prison for years. The problem extends beyond Dubai. Yahya Assiri, the director of the London-based rights group ALQST, which has worked on behalf of Arab women seeking to escape oppression, said he was contacted in by four daughters of the late King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia who were interested in escaping the country.
The four were under house arrest, two at one location and two in another, he was told. Last month, Rahaf Mohammed, the daughter of the governor of Sulaimi in northern Saudi Arabia, was granted asylum in Canada after facing deportation back home from Thailand. Mohammed was lucky, Zayadin said. For every successful escape story, there are many others that fail and stay unknown. Much like Princess Latifa, Mohammed had fled because she faced restrictions over her movement, education, and health care and was prevented from reporting domestic abuse.
Mohammed was told she could not cut her hair as longer hair was desired by men looking for a wife, but she cut her hair anyway; in response, her family kept her under house arrest until her hair grew back. All I wanted was freedom and peace of mind.
The cases of Princess Latifa and Mohammed may attract bad publicity abroad, but they help Gulf authorities win support domestically. It received wide media coverage inside the kingdom and helped feed into a narrative that foreign governments use Saudi women to serve their own agendas.
Media also highlighted that Mohammed wanted to abandon her religion altogether, a great sin to Muslims that is generally punishable by death. From Canada, Mohammed has been contacted by friends and other women in the region who have told her that their families have taken their passports and told them they can never travel again.
The women say they are scared. To Mohammed, they should be. Sending help will not work. Shusha was the key to the recent war between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Now Baku wants to turn the fabled fortress town into a resort. Argument An expert's point of view on a current event.
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