As of this writing, neither President Obama nor any prominent US official has opposed the Saudi government’s death sentence. When the State Department’s spokesman was asked about Ali’s case, he claimed he hadn’t heard of it—despite the broad international coverage the case has received. US Uncut contacted the State Department for clarification of the US position on the issue, but received no response.

The US and Saudi Arabia have a very close relationship: just weeks ago Saudi Arabia’s King Salman enjoyed a meeting with Obama at the White House.