A 74-year-old Florida retiree, Saad Almadi, claims Saudi authorities are coercing him to renounce his U.S. citizenship after jailing him for tweets critical of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to his son, Ibrahim Almadi, Saudi Arabia’s government has pressured at least four dual Saudi-American nationals to give up their U.S. citizenship as part of a broader crackdown on dissent.
Almadi, a retired project manager who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, was arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2021 during a family visit. He was sentenced to over 19 years in prison on terrorism-related charges tied to his tweets, which included commentary on the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the crown prince’s rise to power. Though released after a year, Almadi remains barred from leaving Saudi Arabia under an exit ban.
According to Ibrahim Almadi, Saudi intelligence agents summoned his father in November 2022, promising to lift the exit ban if he relinquished his U.S. citizenship. Feeling pressured, Saad Almadi signed a document and attempted to return his U.S. passport to the U.S. Embassy, though American law requires a formal, voluntary process to renounce citizenship. The U.S. State Department confirmed Almadi remains a citizen and continues to receive consular support.
A human rights group, the Middle East Democracy Center, reported that three other dual U.S.-Saudi nationals have faced similar pressure. These individuals, like Almadi, are not known activists but appear to have drawn scrutiny for mild criticism or personal connections.
The case highlights ongoing tensions in U.S.-Saudi relations, complicated by the legacy of the 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which U.S. intelligence linked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. President Joe Biden initially promised to hold Saudi leaders accountable but softened his stance amid rising gas prices.
Former President Donald Trump, whose family maintains extensive business ties with Saudi Arabia, is expected to further strengthen ties with the kingdom during his upcoming presidency. His real estate organization recently announced plans for a luxury high-rise in Jeddah, while his son-in-law Jared Kushner secured a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Almadi’s case underscores the challenges the U.S. faces in addressing rights violations by allies like Saudi Arabia. Mickey Bergman, CEO of Global Reach, a group advocating for detained Americans abroad, noted that actions by allies complicate U.S. foreign policy, particularly when contrasted with arbitrary arrests by adversaries such as Iran, Russia, and Venezuela.
Despite diplomatic complexities, Ibrahim Almadi continues to push for his father’s release. “Words can’t describe it,” he said, reflecting on his years-long effort to secure his father’s freedom. Having paused his own career to focus on advocacy, he remains determined to reunite with his father and bring him home to the U.S.
