PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Florida retiree who had been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia over social media posts critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrived back in the United States two days after President Donald Trump welcomed the kingdom’s de-facto leader to the White House in a climactic end to years of diplomatic isolation from Washington.
Saad Almadi, 75, arrived Thursday to Philadelphia on a flight from Doha after a travel ban that had blocked him for four years from returning home was lifted by surprise.
His son, Ibrahim Almadi, was at the airport to greet his father, who he hasn’t seen in four years. He said without Trump’s support he would’ve spent yet another Thanksgiving alone.
“Thanks to the American passport, which saved my father from being in prison for the coming 20 years,” the younger Almadi said, holding up a passport.
Almadi was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2021, when he arrived on a planned two-week visit to see family. Saudi officials confronted him with tweets he had posted over the past several years in the U.S., including one about the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and another on the crown prince’s consolidation of power.
He was quickly sentenced to more than 19 years in prison on terrorism-related charges stemming from the tweets. He was later freed after more than a year but placed under an exit ban that kept him from returning to his home in Boca Raton, near Miami. The Associated Press also reported in January that Saudi officials were pressuring the elder Almadi, a retired project manager who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, to renounce his American citizenship.
Trump’s return to the White House this year and his push to restore relations with Saudi Arabia marked a turning point in the long ordeal. In September, Almadi was found guilty of lesser charges — for distributing online content that undermines public order — that carried a three-year sentence.
The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.
Son believes ruling looks to keep his father quiet
Almadi’s son said that the harsh treatment of his father was aimed at keeping his family and others to stay silent and not get in the way of the crown prince’s diplomatic comeback.
It’s not clear what role the Trump administration played in securing Almadi’s freedom. When asked by a reporter in May about the case, Trump said he didn’t know about it but promised to take a look. A few weeks later, one of his national security aides, Sebastian Gorka, met with the younger Almadi at the White House.
The U.S. State Department declined to comment in a statement, citing privacy considerations, but said it welcomed Almadi’s return and that the entire Trump administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens.
Trump deepens ties with Saudi Arabia
Trump, since returning to the White House, has intensified an effort started during the Biden administration to improve relations with the Saudi royals and move past Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
During his visit to the White House this week, Trump heaped praise on Prince Mohammad all the while downplaying the kingdom’s human rights record. The two watched from a red carpet as fighter jets streamed over the White House and hosted him for a lavish state dinner in the East Room. Trump also announced a decision to sell F-35 jets to Riyadh.
Trump’s family has extensive business dealings with the world’s top oil exporter, which have only deepened since voters returned him to the White House.
In April, the Trump Organization struck a deal with a developer close to the Saudi royal family, London-based Dar Global, to build a Trump-branded beachside villa and 18-hole golf course in neighboring Qatar. The Trump Organization also is partnering with the firm on a luxury high-rise apartment building in the coastal city of Jeddah, a project that was announced last December.
A private equity firm controlled by Trump’s son-in-law and former White House adviser Jared Kushner received a $2 billion investment from the sovereign wealth fund controlled by the crown prince.
Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the Middle East. It’s also a key player in regional conflicts involving Iran and Yemen as well as the chief prize in U.S. efforts to get Arab states to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords — a hallmark foreign policy achievement during Trump’s first term.
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Goodman reported from Miami.
