The father of an Oregon teen who was killed by a Saudi student in a hit-and-run incident urged President Joe Biden Friday not to deal with Saudi Arabia.
‘She was crossing the street … and she was struck by a speeding car and killed,’ said Seth Smart, the father of Fallon Smart, on ‘Fox & Friends First.’
The suspected killer is believed to have escaped to Saudi Arabia with the help of the government. Biden is set to visit Saudi Arabia next week, where he is expected to push the Saudis to increase oil production as gas prices surge in the United States.
PARENTS OF OREGON HIT-AND-RUN VICTIM, STILL COPING WITH DAUGHTER’S DEATH, UNCERTAIN IF SUSPECT WILL RETURN FROM SAUDI ARABIA
Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah was arrested August 2016 and indicted for first-degree manslaughter, hit-and-run, reckless endangerment and reckless driving after allegedly killing Fallon in Portland.
In September of that year, Noorah’s $100,000 bond was posted by the Consulate of Saudi Arabia, according to court records. In early June 2017, Noorah removed his monitoring device and vanished.
His whereabouts were thought to be unknown until U.S. officials learned from the Saudi government he had returned to the kingdom.
Smart quoted Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden (D), who said the U.S. cannot value Saudi oil more than the blood of Fallon Smart and slain journalist, Jamal Khashoggi.
‘I’m not very political. I don’t know all the ups and downs. But I do know this, that any agreement between the U.S. and the Saudi government that does not address the Saudi students that have not stood trial – and these guys have been accused of things like rape, possession of child pornography, and of killing my daughter Fallon, is not a good deal for the U.S.,’ he told Todd Piro and Carley Shimkus.
Smart said there is not a lot of ‘political will’ to get justice for his daughter’s killer.
‘It’s hard to wrap your head around that they can act with impunity within our borders and there are no consequences,’ he said.
Fox News’ Ryan Gaydos contributed to this report.