An American citizen who served jail time in Saudi Arabia and was banned from leaving the country after his release in 2023 will now be returned to the United States.
75-year-old Saad Almadi will be released after a meeting between Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump at the White House.
Police in Saudi Arabia arrested Almadi during a family visit in 2021 after he suggested on X that a street in the country’s capital be renamed after Jamal Khashoggi.
Khashoggi is the Washington Post journalist who died at a Saudi Arabian consulate in 2018.
Almadi was accused of terrorism for that criticism of the Saudi royal family.
He was sentenced to 13 years in jail but was released in 2023.
However, after being released, he was not allowed to leave the country.
Almadi’s family was grateful for his release and credited Trump with arranging it.
In a statement after his release was announced, the Almadi family said:
“This day would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the tireless efforts of his administration.
“We are deeply grateful to Dr. Sebastian Gorka and the team at the National Security Council, as well as everyone at the State Department.”
Since his conviction, many have questioned why the Saudi royal family considers Almadi’s post to be critical of it.
There have been long-standing accusations that the crown prince ordered the operation that took Khashoggi out.
Yet, Salman denies that he did so.
Nevertheless, it remains unclear how criticizing the royal family of Saudi Arabia led to terrorism charges.
In addition to Almadi’s release, Trump also secured a commitment of $1 trillion of U.S. investments from Saudi Arabia.
It was a very productive meeting, by all accounts.
Trump has often bragged about his positive relationship with Saudi Arabia.
But it hasn’t always been evident in how the country has treated the U.S.
Relations between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. turned frosty during the Biden administration.
Now, Salman seems to be pleased with Trump’s policies.
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