A Florida retiree will remain in Saudi Arabia until next year after being convicted of cyber crimes over posts criticizing Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the man’s son.
Saad Almadi, 75, won't be allowed to leave Saudi Arabia after he was convicted for distributing online content that undermines public order, according to a September ruling provided by to the Associated Press by Ibrahim Almadi, Saag’s son.
His conviction carries a three-year sentence, but he reportedly won't be sent to prison as he has already spent more than a year incarcerated following his 2021 arrest, the outlet reported.
Saag Almadi is prohibited from leaving Saudi Arabia until March 2026 as part of the latest ruling, however.
The Saudi government did not respond to a request for comment when approached by AP.
Almadi immigrated to the U.S. from Saudi Arabia in the 1970's. In 2021, he returned for what was supposed to be a short trip to visit with his family. Instead, he was arrested and confronted with tweets he made over a span of several years that were critical of the Saudi crown prince.
One of the tweets reportedly referenced Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post columnist who was brutally murdered in 2018 at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. Like Almadi, Khashoggi was critical of the crown prince.
In another post, Almadi reportedly criticized what he saw as bin Salman's consolidation of power.
Shortly after his arrest, he was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison on terrorism-related charges stemming from his social media posts.
Saudi officials eventually dropped the charges after Almadi spent more than a year locked up. However, he was prevented from returning to him home in Boca Raton, Florida.
According to previous reporting by AP, Saudi officials have also reportedly been trying to convince Almadi to renounce his U.S. citizenship.
President Donald Trump — who in a May visit to Riyadh in May called the crown prince an “incredible man” — has remained largely quiet on Almadi's detainment.
When asked in May, Trump said he didn't know about Almadi’s case, but promised he'd look into the situation. A few weeks later, one of his national security aides, Sebastian Gorka, met with Ibrahim Almadi at the White House.
The Independent has approached the White House for comment.
Advocates fear that Saag Almadi isn't the only American who has been banned from leaving Saudi Arabia.
According to Abdullah Alaoudh, a senior director at the Middle East Democracy Center in Washington, D.C., there are at least four other people — one American citizen, two U.S.-Saudi dual citizens, and a U.S. green card holder — who are in similar situations.
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