Saudi Arabia Releases American Jailed for Criticizing Government on Twitter

Saudi authorities have released an American citizen, Saad Ibrahim Almadi, who had been sentenced to 19 years in prison on charges of criticizing the government on Twitter, according to his son Ibrahim. The move comes as the kingdom seeks to strengthen its relationship with the United States. Almadi, a dual US-Saudi national, was arrested in November 2021 on charges that included funding terrorism and working to destabilize the kingdom. He had been living in retirement in Florida before his arrest.

Almadi was initially sentenced to 16 years by a criminal court last year before an appeals court increased his sentence to 19 years in February. While all charges against him have now been dropped, he remains banned from traveling. The case had added to the already-strained relationship between the two traditional allies, and US President Joe Biden had raised the matter during meetings with King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman when he visited Saudi Arabia in July.

Almadi’s release comes amid the kingdom’s ongoing reforms, which have been accompanied by a series of arrests of critics of Crown Prince Mohammed, as well as of businessmen, religious leaders, and rights activists. The move has drawn criticism from human rights groups, who say there are still many prisoners in detention in Saudi Arabia who do not have the benefits of US citizenship to draw attention to their cases.