Trump is urged to intervene in trial of US-Saudi national

By AYA BATRAWY and ERIC TUCKER
September 30, 2020

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The trial of a U.S. citizen who is also a Saudi national began Wednesday in Saudi Arabia in a counter-terrorism court that has been used to imprison rights activists in a case that could spark further tensions in already uneasy U.S.-Saudi relations.

The case of Salah al-Haidar, who has been detained since April 2019 in Saudi Arabia, has caught the attention of members of Congress who are urging President Donald Trump to personally seek his immediate and unconditional release.

Al-Haidar, who has a family home in Vienna, Virginia, is facing between eight and 33 years in prison for alleged Twitter posts criticizing the Saudi government, according to people with knowledge of his case, including a U.S. official familiar with the case who insisted on anonymity to discuss it with The Associated Press.

Although the trial began Wednesday, people with knowledge of the case said they were originally told it would begin Thursday. It was not immediately clear how the misunderstanding took place

People with knowledge of the case, who spoke anonymously in order to discuss the matter without repercussion, said al-Haidar’s lawyer and a sibling were present for the opening court session. Judges heard his defense as well as that of other defendants arrested on similar charges around the same time. The next court date was set two months from now. U.S. embassy officials were not present inside the courtroom, the people said.

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