Son of dual American-Saudi held in Saudi Arabia feels ‘dismissal’ of his dad’s case

(WASHINGTON) — The son of Saad Almadi who is held in Saudi Arabia on an exit ban for allegations of “cyber crimes” by the kingdom, said that President Donald Trump has failed to make his father’s release a priority as Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman comes to Washington for a state visit Tuesday. 

Ibrahim Almadi, whose 75-year old father was detained in Saudi Arabia on a family visit in 2021, says his father has been “harassed” by authorities there and seeks a return to the United States, which has been his home for decades. Almadi is a dual American-Saudi citizen who emigrated to the U.S. in 1976.

When he was arrested in 2021, Saudi authorities accused Saad Almadi of terrorism for 14 tweets he wrote that were critical of the royal family. Two years later, the charges were reduced to so-called “cyber crimes,” and he was sentenced to an exit ban that bars him from leaving the kingdom until 2054.

One of the tweets, which were published while Saad Almadi was in the U.S., advocated for the renaming of a Washington, D.C., street for Jamal Khashoggi, a Washington Post journalist who was killed at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul. 

Trump, asked about the Almadi case, told reporters in May he would “take a look” at it.

In an interview with ABC News, Ibrahim Almadi said U.S. diplomacy achieved his father’s release from detention and even “saved his life” in 2023. But he argued that bin Salman, the de-facto Saudi leader who will be greeted by Trump at the White House before a state dinner, is still “getting away with jailing Americans” by banning his father’s travel.

That Saudi Arabia, an American ally, has not released the elder Almadi is “insulting,” Ibrahim Almadi told ABC. He contended that Trump, who has enjoyed warm relations with Saudi Arabia, could make “one call” to free Almadi. 

Trump has made the release of Americans detained abroad a priority, often dealing with adversaries to bring U.S. citizens home — like in the case of Venezuela, with which Washington has no formal diplomatic ties.

Asked for comment about Saad Almadi, an official at the National Security Council declined to discuss details. The official emphasized that “bringing our citizens home is a Number One top priority for President Trump,” pointing to “more than 75 Americans he has liberated in the last 10 months.”

ABC News has reached out to the Saudi embassy in Washington for comment on the Almadi case.

Ibrahim Almadi said U.S. officials have repeatedly told him in the four years since the arrest that they were in “final talks” and “advanced communication” to win his father’s release from the country. 

“What my feeling is now — and my father[‘s] feeling — it’s a dismissal of the case,” he said. “They are dismissing the case.”

It leaves the Almadi son pessimistic ahead of the state visit, convinced that the crown prince “is using him as a card,” he said.

There are three Americans who are wrongfully held on exit bans in Saudi Arabia, according to the Foley Foundation, which advocates for American hostages and wrongful detainees held abroad.