It was not until 27 October 2007, after two months of secret detention, that Mr. Gellani received his first visit from the British Consul. Continuously submitted to degrading treatment during his detention, he was not informed of the charges against him or the length of his detention, despite the fact that he was presented many times before a judge. In September 2010, a Saudi lawyer was finally appointed to his case, but as the trial drew near, the lawyer was himself arrested by the Saudi authorities and was not able to assist his client in his defence. Mr. Gellani was not afforded appropriate legal assistance or a fair trial, and has been detained without legal proceedings not only during his first detention between 2005 and 2006, but also during his second from 2007 to the present day.

In opinion 2/1011, the United Nations specialists found that the successive arrests of Mr. Gellani were made without warrants. During his incommunicado detention Mr. Gellani was submitted to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and the lack of respect for the right to a fair trial constituted "a new level of deprivation and contempt for human rights under international and domestic law."

The Saudi Arabian government offered no response to the calls of the Working Group and has not clarified the reasons for Mr. Gellani's arrest. It seems likely that he was arrested for giving an interview to Al Jazeera especially in light of the systematic arrests of civilians exercising their right to freedom of expression in the country.

In conclusion, the Working Group decided that Mr. Gellani's two periods of detention are arbitrary in accordance with categories I, II and III of the Working Group and that his detentions were without legal basis and in violation of articles 9, 10 and 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

In the decision, the UN experts called on the Saudi government to release Mr. Gellani without delay and urged it to ensure that his right to compensation was respected.

The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has issued many decisions concerning the situation in Saudi Arabia. None have been followed up to this day despite the claims of the government that it wishes to cooperate with the special procedures of the UN.