A U.S. judge on Friday said a former Twitter employee could be released on bond, with travel restrictions, while he awaits trial on charges of spying for Saudi Arabia, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Magistrate Judge Paula McCandlis, of the U.S. District Court in Seattle, said her decision to grant Ahmad Abouammo, 41, bond would go into effect at 4:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. ET), unless federal prosecutors made an appeal.
In the case of an appeal, Abouammo would stay in detention until a District Court judge made a ruling on McCandlis’ decision, defense lawyer Chris Black said.
Abouammo was arrested on Tuesday and indicted on spying charges the next day, along with Ali Alzabarah, 35, another former Twitter employer, and Ahmed Almutairi, 30, who worked for the Saudi royal family.
The indictment points a public finger at Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally with warm ties to President Donald Trump despite what Amnesty International calls its restrictions on human rights and the “extrajudicial killing” of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
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