Maslaha, who is in her 70s, has spent three months in Briman prison without trial, her brother Ahmad told local Arabic daily Al-Watan on Thursday.

The woman was reportedly evicted from her villa where she lived for about 40 years and thrown into jail thanks to her brothers-in-law after she refused to give in to their demands for a share of the inheritance left by her late husband. A lawyer said there was no legal justification for her imprisonment.

Ahmad said his sister was only 18 when she married a 30-year-old man. The husband was a soldier who was paid only SR300 a month.

He said Maslaha was a good tailor and was making good money. They did not have children and she worked hard to buy a house. She worked extra hours, collected enough money and gave all her savings to her husband to buy the house.

The husband bought a small house and told his wife that the house was hers, even though he had the deed and the ownership documents in his own name. However, she trusted him.

While Jeddah was being expanded, the municipality offered to buy the house for SR760,000. The couple sold the house and bought a luxurious villa which cost them SR40,000 more.

She sold her gold and jewelry to finance the sale and never asked for any official papers as she had too much confidence in her husband, said Ahmad. They lived together in the villa for about 30 years.

When her husband died, his brothers came to her the next day demanding their share in the inheritance. She refused to give them the deed but they were able to obtain a copy and took the case to the court.

As the old woman did not know how to read or write, she did not know how to respond, said Ahmad. She did not attend the court sessions as she refused to open her door to receive the court's subpoena.

The general court in Jeddah then issued a ruling in absentia. The ruling asked the woman to vacate the villa, sell it and divide the proceeds among various inheritors according to Shariah.

She was given a month to appeal the verdict. When she refused to, she was asked either to hand over the villa or go to jail, where she has been for three months now.