The verb anetazō refers to judicial examination — specifically, the kind of examination involving binding and scourging to extract confession. It appears twice in the New Testament (Acts 22:24 and 22:29), in the account of Paul's arrest and near-flogging in Jerusalem.
When the Roman tribune ordered Paul to be examined by flogging (anetazō), Paul revealed his Roman citizenship — and the tribune was immediately alarmed, having bound a Roman citizen illegally. This dramatic scene reveals several important truths: (1) Paul knew when to invoke his rights (unlike in Philippi, where he apparently waited until after the flogging to reveal his citizenship — Acts 16). (2) Roman citizenship provided real protection, and Paul used it strategically for gospel advancement. (3) The very interrogation methods designed to silence Paul became occasions to assert his rights, delay his execution, and eventually secure a hearing before Caesar. God uses even hostile legal systems as instruments of His purposes.