Saudi Arabia frees U.S. citizen Saad Almadi after four years in prison as Trump hails strengthened ties with Riyadh

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Saudi Arabia frees U.S. citizen Saad Almadi after four years in prison as Trump hails strengthened ties with Riyadh
Saudi Arabia frees U.S. citizen Saad Almadi after four years in prison as Trump hails strengthened ties with Riyadh

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday allowed US citizen Saad Almadi to return home to Florida — four years after he was incarcerated for tweeting mild criticisms of the Riyadh government.

The announcement came moments after President Trump delivered a speech touting US-Saudi ties during a second day of public events in DC with visiting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s prime minister and de facto ruler.

“Our family is overjoyed that, after four long years, our father, Saad Almadi, is finally on his way home to the United States!” the Almadi family said in a statement.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi sits at a restaurant table. qhiukiqrihkinv

Saad Ibrahim Almadi was imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for tweeting criticisms of the regime.AP

“This day would not have been possible without President Donald Trump and the tireless efforts of his administration. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Sebastian Gorka and the team at the National Security Council, as well as everyone at the State Department.”

The family statement, written by Almadi’s son and chief advocate Ibrahim Almadi, also credited The Post’s “courageous” coverage of the case and thanked various nonprofits and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for supporting the elder Almadi’s cause.

 

Naomi Sterling

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