Florida man Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in his Saudi Arabia since last November, because he wrote some mean things about the regime on his Twitter account – while inside the United States, the Washington Post reports. Almadi arrived in Riyadh last November to visit with friends and family, only to be immediately arrested at the airport and charged with “harboring a terrorist ideology,” “trying to destabilize the kingdom,” “failing to report terrorism,” and supporting and funding terrorism over 14 tweets he posted, one of which referenced the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Prince Bonesaw’s goons.
Almadi’s son Ibrahim says his father has been tortured and imprisoned alongside actual terrorists for his thoughtcrimes. “He had what I would call mild opinions about the government,” Ibrahim told Washington Post columnist Josh Rogin. “They took him from the airport.” Ibrahim says he was told by the State Department to keep quiet as to not aggravate the situation, but as American diplomats’ have gotten nowhere he went ahead and contacted Rogin to speak out. “I told the State Department his hearing was set for October 3 and they should attend. Afterward, over the phone, they said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry we forgot to tell the embassy,'” Ibrahim said. “I feel like they are just careless.” The State Department admitted the fuckup and say they’re working to get Almadi Sr’s status upgraded to “wrongfully detained,” and will press harder to secure his release.