The Almadi case: American in Saudi Arabia faces 16 years in prison for tweets

That happened

The Saudi Arabian government has sentenced 72-year-old Saad Ibrahim Almadi to 16 years in prison. Almadi is a Saudi Arabian-American dual citizen who lived and worked in Florida as a project manager, writes the Washington Post. When he traveled to the Saudi capital Riyadh in November 2021 to visit relatives there, authorities were already waiting for him at the airport, his son told the Washington Post.

The reason for his arrest are a total of 14 tweets he sent out for seven years, in which he criticized the Saudi Arabian government.

Almadi was convicted on October 3, 2022. In addition to the 16-year prison sentence, the 72-year-old also received a travel ban of the same duration. So that means Almadi would be released from prison at age 87 and would have to turn 104 before he could return to the US.

What exactly is Almadi accused of?

His tweets included journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. Almadi also criticized the Saudi government’s policies and what he believes to be the high level of corruption in the system in Saudi Arabia.

Almadi is accused of trying to destabilize the Saudi royal family. He also has a terrorist ideology and supports and finances terrorism directed against Saudi Arabia.

According to his son Ibrahim, Almadi is anything but an activist or dissident. He has “what one might call a mild government opinion,” Ibrahim said.

That’s what the convict’s son says

Almadi’s son Ibrahim told the Washington Post that he felt empty and dead inside. He also feels betrayed. About his father he says: «He is not only my father, he is my best friend. He is everything to me.”

His father was also tortured in prison and locked up with real terrorists. In addition, the Saudi authorities put pressure on the family and threatened to take everything from them if they did not remain silent on the matter.

That’s why the son criticizes the American authorities

It is clear to Ibrahim that the US State Department has handled his father’s case carelessly and has not acted forcefully towards the Saudi authorities.

According to the Washington Post, Almadi was only visited in Riyadh by a representative of the US embassy after serving six months in prison. There he refused to let the US government intervene in his case. This in the knowledge that he would be tortured if foreign governments were involved. During a second meeting, Almadi then asked for US support – and he was promptly tortured.

Ibrahim then contacted a special agency for such cases in Washington and arranged a hearing. He was then told for eleven months that his father’s case was “in progress”. However, nothing happened. When Almadi was sentenced in early October, no member of the US embassy was present, according to the Washington Post.

However, Ibrahim has not given up hope of his release. For that reason, he turned to the public and spoke to the Washington Post and CNN, among others. He hopes the coverage will increase pressure on both US authorities and those in Saudi Arabia. (against)