The Kingdom has granted permission for US citizen Saad Almadi to return home to Florida, well before of the planned removal of travel restrictions and a day after the kingdom's leader and head of government met the former US president at the White House.
Legal Case Background
Almadi, 75, was sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment in the kingdom in 2021 after he posted 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. After 24 months, the charges were reduced to termed "cyber crimes" and he was sentenced to a 30-year ban on leaving Saudi Arabia.
"We are thrilled 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 delivered a speech promoting US-Saudi ties, including weapons deals and financial agreements.
Diplomatic Recognition
"This moment would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the persistent work of his administration. We are deeply grateful to Dr Sebastian Gorka and the team at the national security council, as well as everyone at the foreign affairs office," it added.
The declaration by Almadi's son, Ibrahim Almadi, also thanked various non-profit organizations, including the James Foley Fund and Hostages America, and House speaker Mike Johnson for backing the older Almadi's cause. He later posted on social media that his father was traveling to the US.
Wider Implications
Almadi is one of a handful of American dual citizens facing travel restrictions from Saudi Arabia following a crackdown on online dissent. His son has earlier stated that Almadi was coerced to sign papers renouncing his US citizenship.
The case against Almadi centered on social media posts in which he was alleged to have urged Saudi citizens to seek Lebanese citizenship and faulted the kingdom's defenses against Houthi rocket strikes.
More controversially, he expressed approval for the renaming of a street in the US capital after Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist and Washington Post columnist murdered in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.
Related Incident
US intelligence reports published by the Biden administration later concluded that the crown prince had authorized of a plan to "detain or eliminate" Khashoggi.
Asked about the killing, Trump said the crown prince "knew nothing" of Khashoggi's killing. The Saudi crown prince has maintained his innocence. He said at the White House that Saudi Arabia "took appropriate measures" to investigate Khashoggi's death, which he called "distressing" and a "huge mistake".
International Efforts
US pressure to free Almadi and allow him to return to the US has been building since Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia in May. Many appealed to Trump's claim that he is uniquely successful in bringing back 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 investigate. 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.
