Washington D.C. – Military.com, Nov. 14, 2025
The son of a dual U.S.-Saudi citizen detained abroad on terrorism charges for social media posts told Military.com that he’s received white noise from the Trump administration regarding his father’s potential release, all as President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet face-to-face next week with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
Saad Almadi, 75, traveled from his private Florida residence to Saudi Arabia in November 2021 and, according to hostage advocates, was wrongfully imprisoned over 14 posts he made on his private X account, then known as Twitter. Upon arrival, Almadi was detained by Saudi agents on charges of harboring a terrorist ideology, destabilizing the Kingdom, and terrorism
On Oct. 3, 2022, Almadi was sentenced to 16 years’ detention and given a 16-year exit ban, preventing him from leaving Saudi Arabia and returning to the states. In March 2023, after extensive lobbying from the Biden-era State Department, Almadi was released from detention but still under the guise of the exit ban.
Almadi was brought back into court by Saudi officials this past September, ultimately receiving a three-year sentence (with time served) and his travel ban was reaffirmed.
