The son of an elderly United States citizen says Saudi authorities gave his father a lengthy 16-year prison sentence for tweets critical of the regime, but the Biden administration has mishandled the case for his release.
"[Biden] sold my father for oil, that's clear to us," Ibrahim Almadi told the New York Post Tuesday. "Especially when we saw the news last week about how they requested to delay the OPEC [oil production cuts] decision a month [until after the election]."
"Biden just cares about votes. He doesn't care about my father [72-year-old Saad Almadi], he doesn't care about American citizens," Ibrahim continued. "He got sold for oil, but they didn't receive the oil. So there is no father, no oil. There's nothing — there is only shame; that is what the White House has got now."
In July, President Biden visited the oil-rich kingdom of Saudi Arabia with no mention of Ibrahim's father in order to secure oil shipments before the midterms. According to The Washington Post's Josh Rogin, the senior Almadi was convicted and sentenced on Oct. 3, but "nobody from the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh even showed up."
"I told the State Department his hearing was set for Oct. 3 and they should attend," Ibrahim told the Washington Post. "Afterward, over the phone, they said, 'Oh, I'm sorry we forgot to tell the embassy.' I feel like they are just careless."
A State Department official later confirmed to Rogin that "unfortunately, that information wasn't passed [to the embassy]. That is something we deeply regret."
Despite the Biden administration's handling of Almadi's case, the president has repeatedly advocated for the release of women's professional basketball player Brittney Griner, who pleaded guilty in July to possessing a small amount of marijuana while at a Moscow airport.
Ali al-Ahmed, whose cousin, Dr. Bader al-Ibrahim, is not allowed to leave Saudi Arabia, says the Biden administration "should not discriminate between Brittney Griner or Saad Almadi or others. If this man was in Russia or Iran or Venezuela, I think [Biden] would have spoken strongly and acted strongly."
He added, "If they can get seven Americans out of Venezuela and raise hell about Griner, this was the easy case."
Still, a White House official has maintained that Biden privately raised their cases during his visit to the Saudi Arabia.
"President Biden is aware of the cases of four U.S. citizens subject to travel bans in Saudi Arabia. Members of his team met recently with representatives and family members of individuals in this status," the official stated. "The president also raised their cases with the Saudi government during his recent visit. We will continue to press at the highest levels for these travel bans to be lifted."
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