Saudi Arabia sentences US citizen to 16 years over tweets critical of regime

Move is another sign of kingdom's aggressive crackdown on any whiff of dissent posted on social media

An American citizen has been sentenced to 16 years in prison in Saudi Arabia for tweeting critically about the Saudi regime, in another sign of the kingdom's aggressive crackdown on any whiff of dissent posted on social media.

Saad Ibrahim Almadi, 72, a dual US-Saudi national, was arrested in November 2021 upon landing in Riyadh for what was supposed to be a two-week stay in his native country for a work and personal trip.