On 3 March 2010, 20-year-old Thamer Alkhodr was arrested by security agents. At the time of his arrest, he was not shown a warrant nor was he charged. He would spend his first two days in secret detention. Following his arrest, the agents searched his home without a warrant - confiscating some of his personal belongings including two computers belonging to his father.

The past 3 months have seen a serious worsening of the situation of Dr Saud Al Hashimi, the 48 year old Saudi doctor and human rights defender arbitrarily detained since 2 February 2007 in al Ruweis detention center, in Jeddah. Following 4 years of continual protest by Dr Al-Hashimi at his detention conditions and the lack of any trial, he has again been subjected to serious torture to pressure him to accept charges fabricated by the Ministry of Interior to justify his arrest and detention and forcing him to refuse legal help.