Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow US citizen Saad Almadi to return to Florida, five months earlier than scheduled and a day after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Donald Trump at the White House.
Almadi, 75, was sentenced to 19 years in prison in 2021 for 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. In 2023, the charges were reduced to cyber crimes and he was given a 30-year travel ban.
He is one of several dual US citizens subject to exit bans after a crackdown on online dissent. His son previously said Almadi was pressured to renounce his US citizenship.
“Our family is overjoyed that, after four long years, our father is finally on his way home!” the Almadi family said. They thanked President Trump, the state department, and organisations including the James Foley Fund.
Trump’s involvement followed a May trip to Saudi Arabia. National security aide Sebastian Gorka and House Speaker Mike Johnson met the younger Almadi. Johnson had said: “President Trump loves to do business with the Saudis and we will win your father back.”
