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The Kingdom has granted permission for 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 head of government met the former US president at the White House.

Legal Case Background

Almadi, 75, was given 19 years of incarceration in the kingdom in 2021 after he wrote 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. Two years later, the charges were reduced to termed "cyber crimes" and he was sentenced to a 30-year ban on leaving Saudi Arabia.

"We are thrilled 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 person with dual nationality and retired engineer who had lived in the US since the 1970s, would be free to leave the country came after the US president gave an address touting US-Saudi ties, including weapons deals and financial agreements.

Political Recognition

"This moment would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the persistent work of his administration. We are extremely thankful to Dr Sebastian Gorka and the team at the security advisory board, as well as everyone at the state department," the statement continued.

The statement by Almadi's son, Ibrahim Almadi, also thanked various charitable groups, including the James Foley Fund and Hostages America, and House speaker Mike Johnson for backing the older Almadi's cause. He subsequently shared on social media that his father was traveling to the US.

Wider Implications

Almadi is one of a small number of American dual citizens facing travel restrictions from Saudi Arabia following a clampdown on online dissent. His son has previously claimed that Almadi was pressured to sign papers giving up his US citizenship.

The legal proceedings involving Almadi centered on social media posts in which he was accused of urged Saudi citizens to seek Lebanese citizenship and criticized the kingdom's defenses against Houthi rocket strikes.

More controversially, he supported the rededication of a street in the US capital after Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist and Washington Post columnist killed 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.

Asked about 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 "did all the right things" to investigate Khashoggi's death, which he called "painful" and a "huge mistake".

International Efforts

US diplomatic efforts to release Almadi and allow him to come back to the US has been increasing since Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia in May. Many urged Trump's claim that he is uniquely successful in bringing back US citizens detained overseas.

When questioned by journalists in May about the case, Trump said he wasn't aware about it but promised to take a look. A few weeks later, one of his national security aides, Gorka, met the younger Almadi at the White House.

"President Trump is the president of deals and he loves to do business with the Saudis and we will win your father back," Johnson said.