Abdul Rahman Ali Alharbi, the Saudi national who was taken into custody moments after 2 bombs rocked the Boston Marathon, is being deported back to Saudi Arabia.
On Thursday, FOX News announced that Ali Alharbi, 20, was being deported back to Saudi Arabia on “national security grounds.” Ali Alharbi entered this country on a student visa.
The deportation announcement came hours after President Obama met with the Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister at the White House. The meeting was not originally on Obama’s schedule, according to Fox host Sean Hannity. The Saudi national’s hasty deportation is being called “highly unusual”.
Ali Alharbi was hospitalized with leg injuries following the bombings on Monday. After he was visited by a Saudi diplomat, FBI and ATF agents raided his Boston area apartment. The agents were seen carrying bags of evidence out of the apartment Monday night.
Ali Alharbi is reportedly a member of a well-connected Saudi clan with suspected ties to al-Qaeda.
Terrorism expert Steve Emerson said, “This is the way things are done with Saudi Arabia. You don’t arrest their citizens, you deport them because they don’t want them to be embarrassed and that’s the way we appease them.”
On his Facebook page, Ali Alharbi listed his status as bisexual, saying he preferred men and women. That probably won’t sit well with fellow Saudis when he is deported.
According to Fox, President Barack Obama and the first lady are traveling to Boston to attend an inter-faith service, as well as speak to victims and city officials.
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Photo of Ali Alharbi Source
