Saad Ibrahim Al-Madhi: a Saudi court “sentences an American citizen to 16 years in prison for tweets”

The Saudi court indicted him for trying to destabilize the kingdom and for supporting terrorism.

Ibrahim said the only evidence presented to the court was 14 tweets.

Tweets seen by the BBC include criticism of the demolition of parts of the old neighborhoods of Jeddah and Mecca, concern over poverty in the kingdom and a reference to the murdered Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Saad was also convicted of failing to report terrorism due to the tweets Ibrahim posted on another Twitter account, his son said.

Prosecutors called for a 42-year prison sentence, the son said, then a 16-year sentence and a travel ban for another 16 years.

Although Ibrahim has not been able to speak to his father since his arrest, other family members said they could visit him and that he had told them he was fine.

Ibrahim told the BBC he doubted it was true.

He criticized what he sees as the United States government’s lack of interest in his father’s case. He added that US officials met with his father only twice in Saudi Arabia while he was detained, and the first time after six months in detention.

Ibrahim said his efforts to contact the White House about the case had been thwarted.

He revealed his father’s case to the BBC when US President Joe Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia in July.

Ibrahim did not talk about his father’s case at the time, but has now decided to speak out publicly.

He told the BBC that he believed there was a double standard regarding Saudi Arabia, where the US would take more seriously if the detainee had been in Russia or Iran. “But if you are imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, a barrel of oil is worth more than you, my love.”

A US State Department source told the BBC when asked about the matter during Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia that there was nothing more important than protecting US citizens, but he couldn’t comment now.

A senior US State Department official told the Washington Post that the Biden administration had raised Saad’s case with the Saudi government at high levels, but Ibrahim accused US officials of showing no sympathy for his father.

Ali Al-Shihabi, a Saudi commentator and government advisor, said the kingdom is undergoing a difficult transition at a time when it is undergoing changes in a highly polarized society.

“This is a process that can produce wrong steps, but it must be balanced with the authorities’ legitimate concern for a social split,” he added.

The ruling against Saad is the latest in a series of sanctions recently issued by Saudi courts against people for what they have posted on social media.

Another case is that of Noura Al-Qahtani, a mother of five, sentenced to 45 years in prison for “using the Internet to tear the social fabric”, against the backdrop of anonymous tweets she posted on Twitter.

Salma Al-Shehab, a mother of two who studies at the University of Leeds, was arrested while on vacation in Saudi Arabia, on suspicion of providing aid to people who tried to undermine public order and spread false rumors, among other allegations.

Al-Shehab was initially sentenced to six years in prison, then, after an appeal, the sentence was raised to 34 years.

Ibrahim said there is a possibility of challenging the verdict against his father, but Al-Shehab’s conditions make him fearful of the outcome.

“Things could get worse,” he added.