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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 restrictions and a day after Saudi crown prince and head of government met Donald Trump at the White House.

Judicial Proceedings Overview

Almadi, 75, was sentenced to 19 years of imprisonment in the kingdom in 2021 after he wrote 14 tweets critical of the Riyadh government. After 24 months, the allegations were modified to termed "cyber crimes" and he was sentenced to a 30-year ban on departing from Saudi Arabia.

"We are thrilled that, after four long years, our father, Saad Almadi, is finally on his way home to the United States!"

The declaration that Almadi, a person with dual nationality and retired engineer who had lived in the US since the 1970s, would be allowed to depart the country came after the US president delivered a speech touting US-Saudi ties, including weapons deals and investment deals.

Diplomatic Acknowledgments

"This moment 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," it added.

The declaration by Almadi's son, Ibrahim Almadi, also expressed gratitude to various charitable groups, including the James Foley Fund and Hostages America, and House speaker Mike Johnson for supporting the elder Almadi's cause. He subsequently shared on social media that his father was on his way to the US.

Wider Implications

Almadi is one of a small number of American dual citizens facing travel restrictions from Saudi Arabia following a crackdown on digital criticism. His son has previously claimed that Almadi was pressured to sign papers renouncing his US citizenship.

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

More controversially, he supported the renaming 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.

Related Incident

US intelligence reports published by the Biden administration later concluded that the crown prince had approved of a plan to "detain or eliminate" Khashoggi.

Questioned regarding the killing, Trump said the crown prince "knew nothing" of Khashoggi's killing. The Saudi crown prince has maintained his innocence. He said at the White House that Saudi Arabia "did all the right things" to investigate Khashoggi's death, which he called "distressing" and a "huge mistake".

International Efforts

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

When asked by a reporter in May about the case, Trump said he didn't know about it but vowed to take a look. A few weeks later, one of his security advisors, Gorka, met the younger Almadi at the White House.

"President Trump is the president of deals and he enjoys working with the Saudis and we will secure your father's release," Johnson said.