{"id":104002,"date":"2025-11-19T22:41:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=104002"},"modified":"2025-11-19T22:41:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:41:00","slug":"us-citizen-jailed-in-saudi-arabia-for-criticising-regime-allowed-to-return-to-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=104002","title":{"rendered":"US citizen jailed in Saudi Arabia for criticising regime allowed to return to US"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A US and Saudi citizen who was jailed in Riyadh over tweets that were critical of the Saudi government has been allowed to return home to Florida.<\/p>\n

Saad Ibrahim Almadi\u2019s son said that the return of the 75-year-old retired engineer was made possible by President Donald Trump and his administration. The announcement comes one day after Trump hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.<\/p>\n

Mr Almadi was arrested in 2021 upon arriving in Riyadh to visit family and was later found guilty of trying to destabilise the kingdom and supporting and funding terrorism.<\/p>\n

After being sentenced to 19 years in prison, he was released early in 2023 but barred from leaving Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n

Mr Almadi\u2019s family said in a statement posted on X on Wednesday that they are overjoyed that their \u201chorrific\u201d four-year ordeal has come to an end.<\/p>\n

His son, Ibrahim, and the Almadi family also thanked the Trump administration\u2019s \u201ctireless efforts\u201d, as well as the National Security Council and US State Department for safeguarding Mr Almadi\u2019s return.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis case has always been about free speech, and the courageous voices of [journalists] Josh Rogin and Steven Nelson ensured our father\u2019s story was heard around the world,\u201d the family said, singling out journalists for The Washington Post and The New York Post.<\/p>\n

The family also thanked those who stood by them over the past four years: \u201cWe hope the support and care we received will continue for those still held hostage in Saudi Arabia and in other parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to The New York Post, Almadi\u2019s family said he was airborne from Riyadh as of 12:15 ET on Wednesday, just minutes after Trump and the crown prince \u2013 known by his initials MBS \u2013 appeared onstage together at an investment forum in Washington DC.<\/p>\n

Early last month, Mr Almadi\u2019s son posted a photo alongside Sebastian Gorka, deputy assistant to the president on national security, on X. He wrote that the US entry of MBS \u2013 Saudi Arabia\u2019s de facto ruler \u2013 this week was \u201ccontingent upon the safe return\u201d of his father.<\/p>\n

Mr Almadi was arrested in November 2021 upon arriving in Riyadh to visit family. He was originally sentenced to 16 years but an appeals court increased the term to 19 years.<\/p>\n

When he was\u00a0released in 2023, Mr Almadi\u2019s son told Reuters news agency that charges had been dropped but he still faced the travel ban.<\/p>\n

Ibrahim previously told the BBC that the only evidence presented to the court against his father\u00a0consisted of 14 tweets.<\/p>\n

The tweets, seen by BBC News at the time, included criticism of the demolition of old parts of the cities of Mecca and Jeddah, concern over poverty in the kingdom and a reference to the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.<\/p>\n

During\u00a0Trump\u2019s meeting with MBS on Tuesday, the US president came to the defence of his guest, telling reporters that the crown prince \u201cknew nothing\u201d about the 2018 killing of Khashoggi.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s comments appeared to contradict a US intelligence assessment in 2021 that determined the crown prince had approved the operation that led to Khashoggi\u2019s death at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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