The relatives of two American “hostages” in Saudi Arabia tell The Post they’re outraged that President Biden didn’t win their release during his trip last week to patch up relations with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
There are at least four Americans jailed in or unable to leave Saudi Arabia, according to their families. The cases aren’t well-known because the families opted to work quietly with the US government ahead of Biden’s visit.
Now, they’re seeking greater public attention after the leader of the free world left Saudi Arabia without their loved ones.
“I’m not a [Donald] Trump person, nor a Biden person. But if Trump was the president, these people would be home … Trump would have got it done,” said Ali al-Ahmed, whose cousin, Dr. Bader al-Ibrahim, is not allowed to leave Saudi Arabia despite facing no criminal charges.
Al-Ibrahim, an epidemiologist who was working in the country, is a member of the minority Shia Muslim community and was jailed without charges from April 2019 to February 2021.
“We have a saying in our country … it is a big prison,” added al-Ahmed, a longtime US-based analyst of Saudi affairs and president of the Committee for American Hostages in Saudi Arabia. He shared before-and-after photos with The Post that show his cousin’s dramatic weight loss after nearly two years in jail.
In addition to al-Ibrahim, the committee has identified two other US citizens, Salah al-Haidar and Dr. Walid Fatihi, as unable to leave Saudi Arabia. The fourth American is a 72-year-old man who was jailed without charges in November of last year. The Post is not naming him at the request of his family, which fears antagonizing the Saudi government.
Ahead of Biden’s visit, relatives participated in several meetings at the State Department in Washington, but were unable to reach anyone at the White House directly. Biden ended up fist-bumping the crown prince, known as MBS, and not publicly mentioning the detainees.
Biden’s trip served primarily to rehabilitate the crown prince known as MBS amid US pleas for more oil production to offset high gas prices. Biden previously sought to sideline the prince, who is Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, over his role in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi. The trip came as high gas prices contributed to the worst inflation since 1981, sending Biden’s approval rating as low as 30%.
“Biden didn’t move an inch for him,” said the relative of the 72-year-old who spoke with The Post on the condition of anonymity.
The family member added that they had called the White House almost every day from late May until last week to try and speak with Stephanie Hallett, the National Security Council’s acting senior director for the Middle East and North Africa.
The person said they were shocked when a White House switchboard operator asked at one point: “Why do you want to talk to someone who doesn’t want to talk to you?”
Al-Ahmed said he also left messages for Hallett but also was unable to connect with her.
“I’m blaming the White House. I called the White House basically every day,” the relative who requested anonymity said. “The Biden administration seems like they don’t care. Because what can happen? They will chop [off] our family’s heads. And what are we going to do in the States? We’ll have another statue for them, just like what they did for Khashoggi.”
The anonymous 72-year-old lived in the US since the 1970s and traveled to the kingdom to sell property and divest from business interests before he was detained, according to his relative.
The man’s name was given to the State Department at meetings held on June 23, June 24 and July 15, according to both the relative and al-Ahmed. He also is identified in a letter that the families addressed to Biden and Brett McGurk, the NSC’s Mideast coordinator.
The July 12 letter to Biden and McGurk said, “Air Force One is large enough for all of [the detainees]. These American citizens need to come home NOW. There is no better way to come home than riding home with their top elected leader.”
The family member of the unnamed detainee said they contacted the US government about the case in December and the US embassy in Riyadh most recently sent an employee to meet with their relative in March. Some family members in Saudi Arabia claimed to have heard from him in April or May, but it’s unclear if they said so under duress.
“I’m not sure if he’s dead or alive,” the relative said. “There’s a possible chance that he’s dead right now and they didn’t even move. Mr. Biden didn’t even bother to ask. I guess his actions were just to collect some votes [by lowering oil prices].”
The elderly prisoner may have tweeted or retweeted a statement critical of the Saudi government, the family member said, citing information provided by the US embassy. The precise content of the message is unclear.
The man also described being detained alongside six other Americans and claimed there were as many as 10 other US citizens behind bars, the relative said. It’s unclear what their names may be and the relative speculated that they may not have US-based family to advocate for them.
The State Department referred questions to the White House. A National Security Council official defended Biden’s handling of the cases.
“President Biden is aware of the cases of four US 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 said.
“The president also raised their cases with the Saudi government during his recent visit,” the person added. “We will continue to press at the highest levels for these travel bans to be lifted.”
The 36-year-old MBS previously jailed many wealthy Saudis during a 2018 crackdown on rivals and required some of them to sign away large amounts of money.
Securing the freedom of Americans jailed abroad typically is a bipartisan issue. Then-President Donald Trump in 2018 ordered sanctions against Turkey’s interior and justice ministers over the detention of US pastor Andrew Brunson, who ultimately was released. And the Biden administration is currently advocating for Russia to release professional basketball player Brittney Griner, who pleaded guilty this month to possessing a small amount of marijuana when she was detained at an airport in February.
The complaints of detainees’ family members is the latest PR black eye for Biden following the Saudi Arabia trip. Biden proclaimed after meeting MBS that oil prices were likely to come down soon, but subsequent Saudi statements cast doubt on plans for more production. A top Saudi government minister also told Fox News that he didn’t hear Biden accuse the prince of Khashoggi’s murder, despite Biden’s public insistence to reporters that he did.
