Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow US citizen Saad Almadi to come back to Florida, well before of the scheduled lifting of travel bans and a day after the kingdom's leader and prime minister met the former US president at the White House.
Judicial Proceedings Background
Almadi, 75, was sentenced to 19 years of incarceration in the kingdom in 2021 after he wrote 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. Two years later, the allegations were modified to so-called "cyber crimes" and he was sentenced to a 30-year ban on leaving Saudi Arabia.
"Our family is overjoyed that, after four long years, our father, Saad Almadi, is finally on his way home to the United States!"
The announcement that Almadi, a dual citizen and retired engineer who had lived in the US since the 1970s, would be allowed to depart the country came after the US president gave an address touting US-Saudi ties, including arms sales and financial agreements.
Political Acknowledgments
"This moment would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the tireless efforts of his administration. We are extremely thankful to Dr Sebastian Gorka and the team at the security advisory board, as well as everyone at the state department," it added.
The declaration by Almadi's son, Ibrahim Almadi, also thanked various charitable groups, including the James Foley Fund and Hostages America, and House speaker Mike Johnson for backing the older Almadi's cause. He subsequently shared on social media that his father was traveling to the US.
Broader Context
Almadi is one of a small number of American dual citizens facing exit bans from Saudi Arabia following a clampdown on online dissent. His son has previously claimed that Almadi was coerced to sign papers giving up his US citizenship.
The case against Almadi focused on social media posts in which he was accused of urged Saudi citizens to seek Lebanese citizenship and faulted the kingdom's defenses against Houthi rocket strikes.
More controversially, he supported the rededication of a street in the US capital after Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist and Washington Post columnist killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Related Incident
US intelligence reports released by the Biden administration later assessed that the crown prince had authorized of a plan to "capture or kill" Khashoggi.
Questioned regarding the killing, Trump said the crown prince "was unaware" of Khashoggi's killing. The Saudi crown prince has denied any wrongdoing. He said at the White House that Saudi Arabia "did all the right things" to examine Khashoggi's death, which he called "painful" and a "huge mistake".
International Efforts
US pressure to release Almadi and allow him to return to the US has been increasing since Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia in May. Many urged Trump's claim that he is particularly effective in repatriating US citizens detained overseas.
When asked by a reporter in May about the case, Trump said he wasn't aware about it but vowed to take a look. A few weeks later, one of his national security aides, Gorka, met the younger Almadi at the White House.
"President Trump is the president of deals and he loves to do business with the Saudis and we will secure your father's release," Johnson said.
