Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

KSA sentences US citizen to 16 years over tweets critical of regime

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 19 Oct 2022 10:34
4 Min Read

KSA's move is yet another manifestation of the Kingdom's aggressive crackdown on any hint of criticism expressed on social media.

  • x
  • Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, a dual US-Saudi national, was arrested in November 2021 upon landing in Riyadh for what was supposed to be a two-week stay. Photograph: Ibrahim Almadi.
    Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, a dual US-Saudi national (Ibrahim Almadi)

The Saudi Kingdom sentenced an American citizen to 16 years in prison for criticizing the Saudi regime in a tweet, in yet another example of the Kingdom's aggressive crackdown on any hint of dissent posted on social media. 

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, a dual US-Saudi national, was detained in Riyadh in November 2021 after arriving for a two-week work and personal trip in his own country.

This is the second recorded instance of a Saudi citizen residing overseas being detained upon their return for using social media.

Salma Al-Shehab, a Saudi student studying at Leeds University in the United Kingdom, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for maintaining a Twitter account and following and retweeting dissidents and activists. After returning home for the holidays, she was caught and convicted.

Read next: MBS's crackdown: A Saudi mother sentenced for 34 years for Tweeting

Al-Shehab's sentence was handed down by Saudi Arabia's so-called "special terrorism court" just weeks after US President Joe Biden's visit to the Kingdom, which human rights activists warned could give Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) a green light to intensify his crackdown on dissidents and pro-democracy activists.

Prosecutors in Almadi's case centered on 14 tweets written by the American during a seven-year period when he was residing in Florida, including remarks referencing Jamal Khashoggi, the Washington Post journalist slain at the Saudi Embassy in Istanbul in 2018.

Almadi's son, Ibrahim, told The Guardian that Saudi agents took his father from the airport and held him at a hotel while they checked his phone, which contained images of caricatures of Saudi officials, including a drawing of a bloated and overweight Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Crown Prince.

Saad Almadi’s story was first reported in a column in The Washington Post.

Related News

Trump approves Patriot missiles to Ukraine, bills EU for costs

Russia slams US-Denmark military pact as threat to its security

Read next: "Democracy": US reporters restricted in Jeddah, live coverage cut off

Ibrahim said his father was only using his right to free speech when he posted critical tweets. While he was aware of the Saudi crackdown on dissent, Ibrahim said his father felt secure returning to Saudi for a short visit because of his American citizenship and because he belonged to a well-connected tribe in Saudi culture.

"Untouchable. That’s what he thought. But no one is untouchable under MBS. Not even God,” Ibrahim said. “He was trapped.”

The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment.

On August 30, court records reviewed by a human rights organization show that a Saudi Arabian woman, Nourah bint Saeed Al-Qahtani, has been sentenced to decades in jail for using social media to "violate the public order" by the country's terrorism court.

A specialized criminal court found Al-Qahtani guilty of allegedly "using the internet to tear [Saudi Arabia's] social fabric" and sentenced her to 45 years in prison as a result, according to documents obtained and examined by Democracy for the Arab World Now (Dawn).

Dawn informed The Guardian of its findings, which the latter said had been corroborated by Saudi sources, in hopes that the public would be able to shed light on Al-Qahtani's case.

Last year, Saudi activist Loujain Al-Hathloul announced that she will sue three former US officials who worked in the US intelligence and military, noting that they hacked her mobile phone so that a foreign government could spy on her before she was imprisoned and tortured by Saudi authorities. 

The Saudi kingdom is known for several human rights violations against not only journalists but anyone who speaks up against the violent regime and its ways. The names mentioned are but a drop in the sea od violations against the freedom of speech. However, the state that speaks in the name of "democracy" chose and still chooses to turn a blind eye to avoid any harsh consequences against the oil-rich country. 

Read more: Former NSA Chief trained Saudi hackers before Khashoggi murder

  • United States
  • KSA
  • Saudi Arabia

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS