Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a Florida resident who had flown to see family, was arrested in November at the airport as a result of 14 tweets he had sent over The Washington Post reported that the preceding seven years.
Another point of contention between the longtime friends, the US stated on Tuesday that it was pressing with Saudi Arabia a prison term given to a US citizen over tweets critical of the kingdom.
The State Department, which also confirmed Saad Ibrahim Almadi’s detention, stated that the United States brought up his imprisonment starting in December and most recently on Monday. Almadi, a US citizen, is of Saudi ancestry.
The 16-year sentence for the tweets was confirmed by Ibrahim Almadi’s son to AFP.
According to State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel, “We have frequently and vigorously addressed our concerns regarding the issue at senior levels of the Saudi government, both via channels in Riyadh and Washington.”
He stated that it should never be unlawful to exercise one’s right to free expression.
Almadi, a Florida resident who had flown to see family, was arrested in November at the airport as a result of 14 tweets he had posted, according to The Washington Post. over the preceding seven years.
Ibrahim was quoted in the newspaper as saying that Almadi, 72, was sentenced to 16 years in prison and a 16-year travel ban on October 3.
The son told the newspaper that his father had only made “moderate” remarks in tweets regarding the corruption in Saudi Arabia and the killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a US-based journalist who was slain in 2018 after being deceived into visiting the nation’s Istanbul consulate.
According to his son, who confirmed the Post’s allegations to AFP, Almadi was charged with trying to topple the monarchy and supporting terrorists.
According to the State Department, no US representatives attended the sentence because Saudi Arabia had intended to hold the hearing later rather than hurrying it through.
Without verifying the specifics of the judgement, Patel added, “We did not hear back from the Saudi authorities until after the October 3 date” of the sentencing.
Even though the powerful crown prince, Mohammed Bin Salman, had been shielded from harsh consequences by the outgoing president, Donald Trump, Washington was outraged by the murder of Khashoggi, a contributor for The Washington Post.
President Joe Biden vowed to be harder if proof that the crown prince had ordered the execution was declassified, including with regard to Saudi Arabia’s disastrous war in Yemen.
But Biden visited Saudi Arabia in July, where he was seen shaking hands with the crown prince. The trip’s stated objective was to ask Saudi Arabia for assistance in increasing oil supply to bring down gas prices.
But on October 5, just before the US midterm elections, OPEC+, led by Saudi Arabia, announced a significant reduction in production, infuriating Biden, who threatened to take action.
Saudi Arabia has frequently come under fire for its record on human rights. Raif Badawi, a blogger and human rights activist, was accused of posting indecent content on his website and was subsequently handed a ten-year prison sentence that runs through March. He also endured 50 public beatings.
US citizen is imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for 16 years for tweeting against the country
