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Saudi Arabia has permitted US citizen Saad Almadi to come back to Florida, five months ahead of the scheduled lifting of travel restrictions and a day after Saudi crown prince and prime minister met the former US president at the White House.

Judicial Proceedings Background

Almadi, seventy-five, was sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment in the kingdom in 2021 after he wrote 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. After 24 months, the charges were reduced to so-called "cyber crimes" and he was given a 30-year ban on leaving Saudi Arabia.

"We are thrilled 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 resided in the US since the 1970s, would be free to leave the country came after the US president gave an address touting US-Saudi ties, including arms sales and investment deals.

Political Acknowledgments

"This day 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 security advisory board, as well as everyone at the foreign affairs office," it added.

The declaration by Almadi's son, Ibrahim Almadi, also expressed gratitude to 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.

Broader Context

Almadi is one of a small number of American dual citizens facing travel restrictions from Saudi Arabia following a clampdown on online dissent. His son has previously claimed that Almadi was coerced to sign papers giving up his US citizenship.

The legal proceedings involving 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 supported 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.

Khashoggi Case

US intelligence reports released by the Biden administration later assessed that the crown prince had approved of a plan to "capture or kill" Khashoggi.

Asked about the killing, Trump said the crown prince "was unaware" 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 "major error".

Diplomatic Pressure

US diplomatic efforts to release Almadi and allow him to return to the US has been building since Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia in May. Many urged Trump's assertion 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 promised to take a look. A few weeks later, one of his security advisors, Gorka, met the son at the White House.

"President Trump is the master negotiator and he loves to do business with the Saudis and we will win your father back," Johnson said.