Welsh woman Sara Assayed 'set to fly home' from Kuwait prison

Sara Assayed has been cleared of any wrongdoing

A woman from Wales who was left in prison in Kuwait despite being cleared of drugs offences is due to fly home on Thursday, her mother has said.

Sara Assayed, 35, worked as a primary school teacher in Kuwait City, where she had lived since she was 17.

She was jailed for 10 years in March when drugs were allegedly found in her car, but was cleared on appeal in June.

Ms Assayed's parents Ziad Assayed and Helen Conibear had been trying to secure her release.

"It's crazy and unbelievable," said Ms Conibear, who lives in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan.

She said she was due to fly into London Heathrow airport on Thursday afternoon.

"I've just been spending time getting things ready for her to get home," Ms Conibear added. "I can't wait."

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Mr Assayed is a Jordanian-born engineer and his family spent several years living and working in Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

The family moved to Kuwait in 2002, and Ms Assayed decided to continue her education and career in the country when her parents later returned to Barry.

Sara Assayed's parents have been trying to secure her release

Ms Assayed was arrested in March 2019 after she was stopped in her car on her way home from school with another teacher, and police officers alleged drugs were found in the vehicle.

The teacher won an appeal against her conviction on 15 June, but she was kept in a prison in the Kuwaiti desert where Mr Assayed said conditions were "overcrowded" and "inhumane".

On Tuesday, her lawyer said she had been transferred to a deportation prison while awaiting final court paperwork to allow her to return home.