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The Kingdom has permitted US citizen Saad Almadi to come back to Florida, well before of the planned removal of travel restrictions and a day after Saudi crown prince and prime minister met Donald Trump at the White House.

Legal Case Overview

Almadi, seventy-five, was given 19 years of incarceration in the kingdom in 2021 after he posted 14 tweets opposing the Riyadh government. Two years later, the charges were reduced to termed "cyber crimes" and he was sentenced to a 30-year ban on leaving Saudi Arabia.

"Our family rejoices that, after four long years, our father, Saad Almadi, is at last on his way home to the United States!"

The declaration that Almadi, a dual citizen and retired engineer who had lived in the US since the 1970s, would be free to leave the country came after the US president delivered a speech touting US-Saudi ties, including arms sales and investment deals.

Diplomatic Recognition

"This moment would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the persistent work 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 foreign affairs office," the statement continued.

The statement 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 supporting the older Almadi's cause. He subsequently shared on social media that his father was on his way to the US.

Wider Implications

Almadi is one of a small number of American people with dual nationality facing travel restrictions from Saudi Arabia following a crackdown on online dissent. His son has earlier stated that Almadi was pressured to sign papers renouncing his US citizenship.

The case against Almadi focused on social media posts in which he was alleged to have urged Saudi citizens to seek Lebanese citizenship and criticized the kingdom's defenses against Houthi rocket strikes.

Additionally, 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 assessed 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 "did all the right things" to examine Khashoggi's death, which he called "distressing" and a "major error".

International Efforts

US diplomatic efforts to release Almadi and allow him to come back 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 held overseas.

When questioned by journalists in May about the case, Trump said he didn't know about it but promised 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 master negotiator and he loves to do business with the Saudis and we will secure your father's release," Johnson said.