WA man freed from Saudi Arabia jail

An Australian man accused of encouraging terrorism in Saudi Arabia has been freed from prison and returned to Australia.

Australian man Shayden Thorne

An Australian man accused of encouraging terrorism in Saudi Arabia has been freed from prison. (AAP)

An Australian man accused of terrorism in Saudi Arabia has been freed from prison after being granted clemency and has arrived in Perth.

Shayden Thorne was sentenced last May to four-and-a-half years' jail in Saudi Arabia for encouraging terrorism.

He was arrested in November 2011 after a laptop, which his family claims was borrowed from a mosque, allegedly had extremist material on it.

Thorne claimed he confessed after being tortured.

His lawyer, Jalil Alkhalidi, told AAP Thorne arrived in Australia on Wednesday.

On arrival in Perth, Thorne told NITV he was happy to be reunited with his family.

"Two-years-and-a-half I didn't see my family," he said.

"Really, really happy and relieved.

"No words to say, really."

Thorne's brother, Junaid, was deported from Saudi Arabia last July.

He had been in hiding after his passport was confiscated because he was protesting against Shayden's detention.

The brothers lived in Saudi Arabia for more than 10 years, but had kept their Australian citizenship.


1 min read

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Source: AAP


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