He was arrested on 28 November 2005 while driving his car in Saudi capital Riyadh by the Saudi Security Services, and taken to an unknown destination. During four long years, his family remained unaware of his whereabouts until they receive a phone call informing them he was detained at Al-Aseer Prison in the South West of Saudi Arabia in 2009.

3 prisons, 29 scars & false confessions

Since his arrest seven years ago, Amer Al-Anzi has been transferred from Aseer Prison to Al-Hayer Prison in Riyadh, and at the moment, he is detained in Al Dammam Prison in Dammam.

Amer Al Anzi was severely beaten and tortured several times following his arrest. He was suspended from his hands for two days. When taken down from this suspension, he could not bend his hands until he was injected with medicine to loosen his nerves. In addition to verbal abuse and cursing, his torturers used a red-hot knife to burn his skin. He now carries 29 scars all over his body from the torture he has been subjected to.

Amer Al-Anzi was forced to sign false confessions saying that he was involved in the planning of the bombing of Al-Udeid Air Base, a military base west of Doha, Qatar. However, since the beginning of his detention, he has never been officially charged. Surprisingly, he was brought before a court once, where he was forced to sign the confession he had made under torture, but this document has never been used as evidence against him as he has never been tried. Mr Al Anzi has also never been permitted access to a lawyer or visits of any sort.

The detention of Amer Al-Anzi clearly violates international norms relating to fair trial as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and is therefore completely arbitrary.