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Saudi Arabia has agreed to allow US citizen Saad Almadi to return home to Florida, well before of the planned removal of travel bans and a day after the kingdom's leader and prime minister met Donald Trump at the White House.

Legal Case Overview

Almadi, 75, was sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment in the kingdom in 2021 after he posted 14 tweets opposing the Riyadh government. Two years later, the charges were reduced to so-called "cyber crimes" and he was given 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 announcement 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 delivered a speech touting US-Saudi ties, including arms sales and investment deals.

Diplomatic Acknowledgments

"This moment 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 security advisory board, as well as everyone at the state department," it added.

The declaration by Almadi's son, Ibrahim Almadi, also expressed gratitude to various non-profit organizations, including the James Foley Fund and Hostages America, and House speaker Mike Johnson for backing the elder Almadi's cause. He later posted on social media that his father was traveling to the US.

Broader Context

Almadi is one of a small number of American people with dual nationality facing exit bans 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 centered 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 rededication 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 "detain or eliminate" Khashoggi.

Questioned regarding the killing, Trump said the crown prince "knew nothing" of Khashoggi's killing. The Saudi crown prince has denied any wrongdoing. He said at the White House that Saudi Arabia "took appropriate measures" to investigate Khashoggi's death, which he called "painful" and a "huge mistake".

Diplomatic Pressure

US pressure to free Almadi and allow him to return to the US has been building since Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia in May. Many appealed to Trump's assertion that he is uniquely successful in repatriating US citizens held overseas.

When asked by a reporter in May about the case, Trump said he didn't know about it but promised to investigate. 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.