On Friday 1 March 2013, Nasser Qahtani, one of the seven men, contacted Alkarama from Abha Central Prison, Asir Province, in the South of the Kingdom. This is where he and his six companions in misfortune are currently detained, awaiting their execution scheduled for today, 5 March 2013. "We did not kill anyone, we did not kill anyone... Why this sentence?" repeated Nasser in his phone call.

All arrested in similar circumstance in Abha city on 10 January 2006 and all charged with armed robbery of a jewellery store, the seven men were sentenced to death on 6 August 2009after 3 years of pre-trial detention by the General Abha Court in Asir after an unfair trial. Sarhan Al Mashaikh, accused of being the mastermind of the robbery and the head of the group, was sentenced to death by crucifixion over three days.

The seven Saudi prisoners are:

-Sarhan b. Ahmad b. AbdullahAl Mashaikh, ,29 years old

-Saeed b. Hassan b. Ahmad Al Omari *Al Zahrani, , 29 years old

-Ali b. Mohamed b. Hazzam *Al Shahri, 27 years old

-Nasser b. Saeed b. Saad *Al Qahtani, 31 years old

-Saeed b. Nasser b. Mohamed Al Yaala *Al Shahrani 28 years old

-Abdulaziz b. Saleh b. Mohamed *Al Amri, 30 years old

-Ali b. Hadi b. Saeed *Al Qahtani, 31 years old

"Make justice for those who steal billions, who corrupt the nation... Not for the victims of unemployment and poverty" said the seven young men in a statement released through Saudi human rights activist Mohammad Oteibi. They call on for the immediate re-examination of their sentences.

"This is not that we do not accept the law. We do accept the law when it is implemented with impartiality and justice. But in our case, the sentences were issued following serious human rights violations", say the men.

All seven were severely tortured during their detention. They allege to have been forced to stand for long hours and forbidden to sleep, detained in "very cold cells" and given hallucinogens along with their food. The interrogators also threatened to bring their mothers and other family members in for questioning.

"All confessions we made were extracted under torture", they said, "and used by the judge to issue his decision". The whole judicial procedure-from the long years of pre-trial detention to the unfair trial -- failed to guarantee them with the most basic international standards of fair trial.

"Alone in front of Interior Ministry, the Public Prosecutor, we had no access to a lawyer". The trial of the seven men lasted three brief court sessions during which they did not have the assistance of any lawyer.

Director of Alkarama's Legal Department, Rachid Mesli declared: "In the present case, these death sentences are an unusually severe punishment for the aforementioned charges and the implementation of the sentence, handed down after an unfair trial, will be tantamount to an extrajudicial execution".