In an interview with Alkarama, Rami recalls his ordeal: it begins with US and Iraqi forces beating and insulting him. Without showing him any arrest warrant or giving him any reasons, they took him to Al Muthanna Airport. There, he was held in isolation and incommunicado in a cell of approximately 1.5 by 1.5m, until his transfer to which was then the infamous Abu Graib Prison (now Baghdad Central Prison). Apart from the fact that he was beaten, Rami reported that he was subjected to other methods of torture, such as being exposed to extremely low temperatures for several hours as well as suffocation causing loss of conscience.

"In the end, I was forced to sign a false confession, which stated I had entered Iraq illegally, with the promise that I would be released and sent back to my country", he detailed when speaking to Alkarama.

Not only was Rami's arrest arbitrary, but so was his ongoing detention, without a proper trial. In August 2006, he was brought before a judge for formalities. Later, in September 2006, he was taken to an office room where he was accused of illegal entry to Iraq. "I was not given the opportunity to respond to this claim", he told Alkarama. At the end of the session, he was approached by a man who presented himself as his lawyer, informing him that he had just been pronounced guilty of illegal entry to Iraq. This person had not argued his case nor prepared his defence. Even though the right to be provided with counsel is a clear and specific fair trial guarantee, Rami was not able to benefit from it. In the end, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, on the sole basis of confessions extracted under torture.

"I was not given the possibility to appeal my sentence", he added. In November 2006, he was finally transferred to Al Soussa Prison, where he remains to date.

In 2008, a general amnesty was granted to "[a]ll Iraqis sentenced and all those residents in Iraq who have been sentenced" by law No. 19 of 2008. But Rami did not benefit from it. The amnesty is in fact discriminatory as it excluded this particular group of prisoners to which Rami belongs and foreigners should be entitled to the same legal guarantees and protection of their fundamental rights and freedoms as Iraqi nationals. The Iraqi authorities should fulfill their obligations in this matter by amnestying Rami and all those in the same situation as him.

Deeply concerned about Rami's situation, Alkarama informed the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and other UN human rights mechanisms about his case and calls on the Iraqi authorities to undertake all measures necessary to ensure his immediate release.