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Confessions of an Innocent Man: Torture and Survival in a Saudi Prison
"What was it that I did to survive? Where did those ideas come from? Where did I find the resolve to enact them? At the time of my release, I had no ready answers beyond that I did what seemed natural and necessary. In looking back, I realize that the peculiarities of my personality helped me to adopt strategies that allowed for the reclamation of my identity and my integrity while in the hands of barbarians. Yet what I did is neither remarkable nor courageous nor beyond the capabilities of any person that finds himself in similar circumstances. What I have come to believe is that there exists in all of us the potential to stand and fight and reclaim."
— William Sampson
On Sunday, December 17, 2000, Canadian engineer William Sampson stepped outside his house in Riyadh only to be hauled into a car and beaten by two Saudi men he didn’t know. Within an hour, he was incarcerated in one of the city’s most notorious jails. Within two months, he was tortured into a confession of responsibility for a wave of car bombings he did not commit. Sometime in that first year, he was sentenced to death in a secret trial. For two and a half years, Sampson was continually subjected to beatings and torture, convinced his death was just around the corner. Inept diplomacy failed him but human rights groups took up his cause and on August 8, 2003, he was finally freed in a controversial prisoner exchange. It wasn’t until February 2005 that Sampson’s name was officially cleared when a British inquest exonerated him of the crimes.
Angry, intelligent, and compelling, Sampson places his personal story within the context of the geopolitics that engineered his fate, and in doing so has crafted a searing exposé of Western foreign policy in the Arab Middle East.
— William Sampson
On Sunday, December 17, 2000, Canadian engineer William Sampson stepped outside his house in Riyadh only to be hauled into a car and beaten by two Saudi men he didn’t know. Within an hour, he was incarcerated in one of the city’s most notorious jails. Within two months, he was tortured into a confession of responsibility for a wave of car bombings he did not commit. Sometime in that first year, he was sentenced to death in a secret trial. For two and a half years, Sampson was continually subjected to beatings and torture, convinced his death was just around the corner. Inept diplomacy failed him but human rights groups took up his cause and on August 8, 2003, he was finally freed in a controversial prisoner exchange. It wasn’t until February 2005 that Sampson’s name was officially cleared when a British inquest exonerated him of the crimes.
Angry, intelligent, and compelling, Sampson places his personal story within the context of the geopolitics that engineered his fate, and in doing so has crafted a searing exposé of Western foreign policy in the Arab Middle East.
- GenresNonfiction
432 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
May 23, 2012
Having lived in Saudi Arabia when Bill was in prison I found this true story bringing back many memories... and not all of them good. The Kingdom is a brutal and corrupt autocratic place where human rights and tolerance to others are not just ignored – they are trampled on. Others have suffered similar abuses and have been unjustly imprisoned and put to death. I wouldn’t go so far as to say Bill was lucky, but he did finally get released to tell his story.
October 28, 2019
This is quite a difficult book to read, not just because of the torture, the injustice or however you may feel about the author's character (I liked him), there's just so much of it. I would have preferred a little more about his life before starting his tax-dodging job, why did he really go there? How did he spend his spare time before his arrest and what happened when he was finally released and decided to set up home in the UK? Who helped him and what did he do next? Perhaps its because I don't read much non-fiction that I felt the book needed something more.
Having said that it's a very interesting and shocking book, his treatment was appalling and the level of injustice in the Kingdom should be a dire embarrassment to them but they'll carry on getting away with this disgusting behaviour because there's plenty of money to be made out of the Kingdom and when all is said and done that's all governments really care about.
Having said that it's a very interesting and shocking book, his treatment was appalling and the level of injustice in the Kingdom should be a dire embarrassment to them but they'll carry on getting away with this disgusting behaviour because there's plenty of money to be made out of the Kingdom and when all is said and done that's all governments really care about.
May 15, 2019
Great Book :)
September 21, 2023
A very good look at Torture and how degrading it is.
March 31, 2025
unbelievable what humans can endure and survive .
July 23, 2009
horrifying story of Canadian/Brit tortured in Saudi Arabian prison system for over two years. Candian, British, American, and Belgian gov'ts are in collusion with Saudi govt and do not want to get involved in incidents such as this, thus prolonging his suffering and that of others arrested with him. They were lucky to get out at all.
January 12, 2013
Very disturbing book. I was very upset to hear he died recently. His ordeal was horrifying. Gerry and I were there when Bill was arrested.
October 11, 2013
The ultimate survival story. He paints a picture of hell on earth
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews