US President, Joe Biden, claims that Western powers are fighting for freedom. But he supplies weapons to Saudi Arabia and regards it as a close ally.
The case of Saad Almadi shows just how hypocritical his talk of freedom really is.
In November 2015, Saad Almadi typed out a 14-word post on Twitter about Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince.
“Mohammed bin Salman has taken over the economy, defense and everything under the king,”
He had little reason to believe that this Tweet sent to just two thousand people would cause any trouble.
But Seven years later Mr. Almadi, 72, was arrested during a visit to Saudi Arabia. Along with other Twitter posts he wrote that were critical of the Saudi government — and an “insulting picture” of Prince Mohammed saved on his phone — the tweet was cited as proof that he had “adopted a terrorist agenda by defaming symbols of the state” and “supported terrorist ideology,” according to court documents.
His prosecutor requested a severe punishment, “to rebuke him and deter others.” In October, Mr Almadi was sentenced to 16 years in prison, lengthened on February 8th to 19 years after he appealed.
Next time you hear about Western values of freedom, remember what is happening in Saudi Arabia.