Florida retiree detained in Saudi Arabia returns home following Prince’s visit to White House

PHILADELPHIA AP A Florida retiree who had been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia over social media posts critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has arrived back in the United States two days after President Donald Trump welcomed the kingdom s de-facto leader to the White House in a climactic end to years of diplomatic isolation from Washington Saad Almadi arrived Thursday to Philadelphia on a flight from Doha after a advance ban that had blocked him for four years from returning home was lifted by surprise His son Ibrahim Almadi was at the airport to greet his father who he hasn t seen in four years He noted without Trump s endorsement he would ve spent yet another Thanksgiving alone Thanks to the American passport which saved my father from being in prison for the coming years the younger Almadi reported holding up a passport Almadi was arrested in Saudi Arabia in when he arrived on a planned two-week visit to see family Saudi representatives confronted him with tweets he had posted over the past several years in the U S including one about the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi and another on the crown prince s consolidation of power He was hurriedly sentenced to more than years in prison on terrorism-related charges stemming from the tweets He was later freed after more than a year but placed under an exit ban that kept him from returning to his home in Boca Raton near Miami The Associated Press also shared in January that Saudi leaders were pressuring the elder Almadi a retired project manager who immigrated to the U S in the s to renounce his American citizenship Trump s return to the White House this year and his push to restore relations with Saudi Arabia marked a turning point in the long ordeal In September Almadi was discovered guilty of lesser charges for distributing online content that undermines population order that carried a three-year sentence The Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment Son believes ruling looks to keep his father quiet Almadi s son explained that the harsh restoration of his father was aimed at keeping his family and others to stay silent and not get in the way of the crown prince s diplomatic comeback It s not clear what role the Trump administration played in securing Almadi s freedom When questioned by a reporter in May about the matter Trump declared he didn t know about it but promised to take a look A limited weeks later one of his national measure aides Sebastian Gorka met with the younger Almadi at the White House The U S State Department declined to comment in a declaration citing privacy considerations but announced it welcomed Almadi s return and that the entire Trump administration has no higher priority than the safety and protection of U S citizens Trump deepens ties with Saudi Arabia Trump since returning to the White House has intensified an effort started during the Biden administration to improve relations with the Saudi royals and move past Khashoggi s killing inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul During his visit to the White House this week Trump heaped praise on Prince Mohammad all the while downplaying the kingdom s human rights record The two watched from a red carpet as fighter jets streamed over the White House and hosted him for a lavish state dinner in the East Room Trump also revealed a decision to sell F- jets to Riyadh Trump s family has extensive business dealings with the world s top oil exporter which have only deepened since voters returned him to the White House In April the Trump Organization struck a deal with a developer close to the Saudi royal family London-based Dar Global to build a Trump-branded beachside villa and -hole golf unit in neighboring Qatar The Trump Organization also is partnering with the firm on a luxury high-rise apartment building in the coastal city of Jeddah a project that was released last December A private equity firm controlled by Trump s son-in-law and former White House adviser Jared Kushner received a billion funding from the sovereign wealth fund controlled by the crown prince Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer in the Middle East It s also a key performer in regional conflicts involving Iran and Yemen as well as the chief prize in U S efforts to get Arab states to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords a hallmark foreign framework achievement during Trump s first term Goodman broadcasted from Miami Source