U.S. urges Saudis to review cases of 'prisoners of conscience'

FILE PHOTO: The flag of Saudi Arabia flies above the Saudi Arabia embassy near the Watergate Complex in Washington, U.S., February 26, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Brenner

GENEVA (Reuters) -The United States urged ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to review cases of "prisoners of conscience" and lift travel bans and other restrictions imposed on women's rights activists previously released from jail.

The rare U.S. intervention on the matter came with U.S.-Saudi ties strained over a range of issues including the Yemen war, the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018, and energy markets.