Saudi Arabia frees US citizen after nearly two years: report
Source: MSN
Saudi Arabia frees US citizen after nearly two years: report
Zack Budryk
9 hrs ago
Saudi Arabia has freed an American citizen detained for 21 months, The New York Times reported Thursday, citing two friends of the family.
Fitaihi was apparently the only American caught up in a broad sweep conducted by the government in recent years that has resulted in the detention of hundreds, many of them dissidents, critics of the royal family and women's rights activists.
The Times reported that Fitaihi has told a friend he was tortured by security officials in captivity, echoing complaints by relatives of others caught up in the crackdown, who say their relatives have been beaten and blindfolded during interrogations.
Fitaihi was released Wednesday evening and has returned to his family's home in the port city of Jiddah, according to the Times, citing family friend Tarek Abou Ghazala and another friend who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In March, nine Senate Democrats petitioned for Fitaihi's release, along with several other detainees, including human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair and women's rights activists Loujian al-Hathloul and Samar Badawi.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/saudi-arabia-frees-us-citizen-after-nearly-two-years-report/ar-AAFc2Io
Also covered by WaPo
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/world/middleeast/saudi-arabia-doctor-us.html
