He turned himself in to coalition forces on April 12, 2003, with the help of ZDF journalists who he asked to monitor and document his surrender. He was detained in Baghdad International Airport as a "High Value Detainee". As such he has been subjected to solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. The International Committee of the Red Cross stated in its confidential report to the coalition authority that this constituted a "serious violation of the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions". He was both the first person on the most wanted list to turn himself in, and the first to be detained by the U.S.
According to a written Parliamentary answer by Dennis Mcshane MP to Angus Robertson MP, Amer Al Saadi was released by the US on 18 January 2005. However, as detailed here, this claim is highly dubious. A June 20, 2005  Newsweek article reported that a "State Department official...denied al-Sadi had been freed from custody."