An American citizen arrested in Saudi Arabia for criticizing the Riyadh government will return home after US President Donald Trump’s intervention, the son of the citizen told CNN on Wednesday.
Saad Ibrahim Almadi, a US-Saudi dual national, was given a 16-year sentence for tweets criticizing the Saudi government in 2022. Despite his release in 2023, a travel ban prevented him from returning to the United States.
“They really delivered when it comes to my father’s situation. I understand Saudi Arabia is supposed to be our ally regime to us, but they’ve been mistreating us for a while now. And finally, they are correcting the course when it comes to my father’s situation,” Ibrahim Almadi told CNN’s Erin Burnett on ‘OutFront.’
“It’s crystal clear to me that, Mr. President, without him, my father wouldn’t be released,” Almadi said. “I’m quite thankful for the Trump administration and the Department of State.”
The comments came after Trump hosted the Saudi prince at the White House.
Trump said in a press conference at the Oval Office on Tuesday that the crown prince has been doing an "incredible" job on human rights, but did not elaborate.
Reporter asks about killing of journalist by Saudi agents
This came after a reporter asked about the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents.
Trump chided the reporter for asking the question "to embarrass our guest," said that Mohammed bin Salman knew nothing about the killing, and offered a fierce defense of the visiting Saudi crown prince that contradicted a US intelligence assessment.
US intelligence agencies concluded that bin Salman approved the capture or killing of Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. The crown prince denied ordering the operation but acknowledged responsibility as the kingdom's de facto ruler.
"A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about, whether you like him or didn't like him," Trump told reporters, with bin Salman sitting beside him. "Things happened, but he knew nothing about it, and we can leave it at that."
Bin Salman said it had been "painful" to hear about Khashoggi's death but that his government "did all the right steps of investigation." "We've improved our system to be sure that nothing happened like that. And it's painful and it's a huge mistake," he told reporters.
Bin Salman has been strongly criticized by human rights groups not only for the Khashoggi killing but for his crackdown on dissent at home. But the crown prince has also unleashed major social reforms that have swept away some austere social codes.