A Florida retiree was barred from leaving Saudi Arabia until next year after being convicted of cyber crimes for social media posts criticizing the crown prince, the man’s son said Wednesday.

Saad Almadi, 75, was found guilty of distributing online content that undermines public order. He is one of at least four dual Saudi American nationals who have accused Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman‘s government of pressuring them to give up their U.S. citizenship.

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The conviction blocks Almadi from leaving the country until March. He carries a three-year sentence, but his conviction spared him from spending more time in prison after he already spent three years behind bars following his 2021 arrest.

His son, Ibrahim Almadi, believes the sentence is aimed at prompting his family and other Americans facing exit bans to silence themselves so as not to interfere with the crown prince’s diplomatic efforts, according to the Associated Press. Diplomacy between Mohammed and the United States has been strained since a report from U.S. intelligence found that he likely ordered the 2018 killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi.

“The government keeps changing its mind, and there’s no consequences every time it does,” he said in an interview.

Almadi’s family said Saudi officials confronted him with social media posts he made over the past several years, including one about Khashoggi’s killing and another about the crown prince’s consolidation of power.

He was then sentenced to more than 19 years in prison on terrorism-related charges stemming from the posts. He was freed after a year and had his terrorism charges dropped, but Saudi Arabia imposed an exit ban, which has kept him from returning to his home in Boca Raton, Florida.

President Donald Trump has made freeing Americans held by foreign adversaries a priority in his second administration, but he has remained mostly silent on this case. A reporter asked him about it in May, but he said he did not know too many details. Sebastian Gorka, one of Trump’s national security aides, met with Almadi’s son at the White House following Trump’s May comments.

Former President Joe Biden, in his 2020 presidential campaign, vowed to take a harsh stance against Saudi Arabia due to its ties to the death of Khashoggi. However, he softened his criticism of the kingdom as the U.S. was confronted with a spike in oil prices as the COVID-19 pandemic wound down.

Saudi-U.S. relations have warmed under the Trump administration. In May, when Trump visited Saudi Arabia, he described Mohammed as an “incredible man” and “my friend.” The Trump family additionally has several business dealings with the country, which have only grown since Trump returned to the White House in January.

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The State Department has said it is monitoring Almadi’s case.

“Words can’t describe it,” said Almadi’s son, who moved to Washington, D.C., and put his career on hold to support his father. “I used to focus on advancing my life. I’m still only 28. But now all I think about is what to do, how to act, what to say, and what not to say, to secure my dad’s release.”