Almadi, a US citizen, gets released from custody by Saudi Arabia

 


According to his son, a US citizen who was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for criticizing the administration of the country on Twitter has been freed but is still prohibited from traveling.

In 2022, a criminal court sentenced Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, to 16 years in prison. Last month, an appeals court doubled that sentence to 19 years.

Ibrahim, his son, has now claimed that his father was there with his family at their house in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.

All charges have been dismissed, but Ibrahim added that they must now fight the travel ban. Almadi's release was not immediately verified by Saudi or US officials.

Almadi, a dual citizen of the United States and Saudi Arabia who was living in retirement in Florida, was detained after arriving in Riyadh in November 2021 on allegations that included sponsoring "terrorism" and attempting to destabilize the monarchy.

His situation had exacerbated the already tense ties between the two longtime friends, coupled with the cases of other US nationals who are still subject to a travel restriction in Saudi Arabia.

When visiting Saudi Arabia in July, US President Joe Biden claimed he brought up the instances during discussions with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Following the decision to lower output objectives by the OPEC+ oil coalition, which is led by Saudi Arabia and also includes Russia, Biden assured Riyadh there would be repercussions.


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