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
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli raids targeted a cement plant, an asphalt factory, and fuel tanks in the Ansar area in South Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: A series of violent Israeli raids targeted the outskirts of the town of Ansar
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli warplanes raided the outskirts of the town of Shmestar in Bekaa, eastern Lebanon
Donald Trump will speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday: White House
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes raid the town of Bnaafoul, Saida district
YAF: Israeli enemy will pay for this crime.
Yemeni Armed Forces: Son of Major General Al-Ghamari martyred alongside him in Israeli aggression.
Yemeni Armed Forces: YAF mourns martyrdom of Chief of the General Staff Mohammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Palestinian shot and killed by IOF east of Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Occupation forces opened machine gun fire toward outskirts of Aitaroun as locals headed for olive harvest.

MBS' crackdown: KSA increases US citizen’s tweet sentence to 19 years

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: New York Post
  • 9 Feb 2023 13:36
  • 1 Shares
5 Min Read

When looking at Saudi Arabia today, you must keep two things in mind at the same time: one, MBS has marketed a social and economic change, and second, he has made the country more repressive than it has ever been.

  • x
  • Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AFP)
    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AFP)

In yet another example of the Kingdom's aggressive crackdown on any hint of dissent posted on social media, a Saudi appeals court has increased the prison sentence of a US citizen for criticizing the Saudi regime in a tweet.

The US State Department informed Ibrahim Almadi of the new Saudi penalty on Wednesday, months after the White House publicly decried the abuse of his father, Saad Almadi.

“It’s not a slap in the face, it’s a middle finger,” Ibrahim said as quoted by The Post, noting that his father has “lost more than 80 pounds” since his arrest in November 2021 on charges linked to tweets mildly critical of the Saudi government.

“When the US asked for an appeal, they said, ‘Here you go, 19 years!’” his son stated.

Almadi has been held in horrible conditions without a bed or chair since his arrest, sometimes alongside dangerous suspected terrorists, according to his son.

Almadi's situation has come up several times during White House briefings, though Biden has not remarked on it personally.

“The Saudi government understands the priority we attach to resolving this matter. Exercising the freedom of expression should never be criminalized,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed on Oct. 19.

The State Department, however, has declined to officially label Almadi as "wrongfully detained", a bureaucratic term intended to put pressure on international leaders.

The punitive resentencing drew new bipartisan criticism of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's regime. Bin Salman, abbreviated MBS, is Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler and has undertaken a ruthless assault on dissent, including the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Conservative House Foreign Affairs Committee member Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) acknowledged Saudi efforts, led by MBS, to create a "more and more westernized" image of the Kingdom.

“I would hope that the crown prince and folks would look at that and see that that’s just something they shouldn’t be doing,” Jackson said as quoted by The Post. 

“We don’t do that here, obviously, and we don’t want to see that happen to folks in other parts of the world as well. We want everybody to have free speech everywhere,” stressed Jackson, a former physician to Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Related News

"No one is safe in Saudi Arabia": MBS strikes off his possible rivals

Under façade of freedom, MBS leads new era of political repression

"Biden should do more"

Left-wing Rep. Ilhan Omar, who was removed from Foreign Affairs last week due to her outspoken criticism of "Israel",  said as quoted by The Post that "Biden should do more to win Almadi’s release."

“It is atrocious that the sensitivities of the royal family and the regime have led to severe limitations and crackdowns on basic civil liberties like the freedom of speech,” Omar said.

Biden “promised to make MBS a pariah and he hasn’t followed through and I’ve pushed the administration, Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken and others, to take a hard line on some of these gross human rights violations,” Omar said.

On her account, she shared Ibrahim Almadi’s disappointment with the State Department’s decision not to declare his father “wrongfully detained".

“I think that it’s atrocious and unbecoming, I would say, of an administration, of a country, that stands for the freedom of speech, that has it enshrined in its Constitution, that stands for upholding human rights. It’s atrocious,” she said.

Almadi claims that other State Department officials privately agreed that his father should be considered illegally held, but that Blinken must make the decision.

“The only way for my father to get out is through ‘wrongful detention’ … that’s how [WNBA star] Brittney Griner got out …. that’s what works with dictators,” Ibrahim Almadi said. “Using a carrot doesn’t work with MBS, he only works with a stick.”

Biden "sold my day for oil"

The younger Almadi earlier accused Biden of "selling" his father for oil after the President failed to publicly press the Crown Prince on the subject during a July meeting — and indicated Trump would have already gained his release if he had done so.

“I want to see [Biden] give some recognition to my father,” Ibrahim said.

It is worth noting that the State Department confessed it neglected to send someone to his original 16-year, 3-month sentence hearing on Oct. 3, which was tied to 14 tweets and his alleged failure to disclose his son's comparable online criticism.

In October, 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 not an isolated case of a Saudi citizen residing overseas being detained upon their return for using social media.

Read next: Under façade of freedom, MBS leads new era of political repression

  • repressive regime
  • USA
  • US
  • Biden
  • Saudi Arabia
  • MBS

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
The bodies of deceased Palestinians, held by Israel during the war, lie in plastic bags on the floor of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, following their release, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' returns 30 Palestinian bodies; some bear marks of torture

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of war debris as crisis deepens
Politics

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of debris, 20,000 lingering UXOs

Ex-White House adviser Ashley Tellis charged over secret files
Politics

Ex-White House advisor accused of amassing troves of top secret files

An Israeli soldier rests by a mobile artillery unit at a gathering point on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern “Israel”, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Global arms bans isolate 'Israel', yet its war machine keeps running

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