Dubai warning for Brits on holiday as 'following law won't protect you'

28 December 2023 , 09:38

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Radha said she finds it difficult to say Dubai is a safe destination after all the cases she's seen in the 15 years representing people trapped in its judicial system

Brits spending the festive season in Dubai should be aware that "following the law won't protect you" from police who appear content to lock up foreigners regardless of whether they're guilty or not.

In recent months, a number of stories have emerged from hellhole lock ups across the United Arab Emirates where Brits are facing the depressing prospect of spending this festive season behind bars, many of them for crimes they did not commit.

Earlier this month, it emerged that Londoner Albert Douglas, 60, narrowly escaped with his life after being strangled with a telephone cord inside the al-Barsha prison. Mr Douglas and his bereft family maintain his innocence and claim that he was jailed over a £2.5million fine issued against his son's business, which he had no role in. During his stint, he has been beaten repeatedly, denied his heart medication, been humiliated and tortured. On one occasion, guards forced him to drink from a toilet.

Another man jailed for a crime he did not commit was war hero Andy Neal, who spent 18 months languishing in the al-Sadr maximum security complex in Abu Dhabi after being falsely accused of drug dealing without a scrap of evidence. Andy has also spoken with The Mirror about the devastating impact his prison spell has had on his life, including the breakdown of his marriage, and an acute decline in his mental health that has left him unable to work.

British businessman Albert Douglas, 60, has alleged that he suffered a number of human rights abuses while locked up in a jail in Dubai

Jamie Harron was jailed for three months for brushing passed a man in a Dubai bar (Detained in Dubai / SWNS.com)

Radha Stirling, the CEO of Detained in Dubai - a leading international law firm taking cases involving tourists in the UAE - told The Mirror how the arbitrary detentions make it such a high-risk destination that Brits should consider crossing it off their travel list altogether.

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Many people think that by "following the law", they will be able to protect themselves from the harsh judicial system, but Radha says that's no longer a risk-free approach. "There's a lot of people out there who just say, 'Oh no, it's not a problem, you just have to follow the law.' But that's not the case. Most of these people locked up, for example those targeted in the rental car scam, they have all been following the law. They haven't done anything outrageous. It doesn't matter if an Emirati or other local targets you and they want to make money from you, or even if they just don't like you," she explained.

Many of the cells are cramped and overcrowded with hundreds of prisoners forced into a space with just a handful of beds (AFP via Getty Images)

In recent months, a phenomenon known as the rental car scam has emerged in Dubai, in which established vehicle hire companies have been fleecing tourists out of their holiday cash while protected by the country's anti-defamation laws. Brits who complain about the company's behaviour online or on social media can be jailed for defaming the company, even if they've lost a significant amount of money.

Radha pointed out another arrest involving a Scottish man called Jamie Harron, who was jailed for three months after "accidentally brushing past someone in a bar", showing just how easy it is for Brits to be targeted should they annoy or upset a member of the Emirati public. Considering all she's seen in the 15 years she's been working on these cases, Radha says she's unable to recommend Dubai as a "safe" tourist destination.

"We've literally seen it all. It's hard for me to say that going to Dubai is risk free. Of course, you can try to minimise the risks as much as possible, and really be as careful as you can, but that's not always going to protect you. So, it's up to you if you really want to take those risks," she tells The Mirror.

"If you do, the British Government isn't going to step in and help you. In fact, they've been quite shockingly absent from assisting citizens." She says due to the close relationships consular officials have with their Emirati counterparts, they "don't want to offend their friends". "The staff at the embassy, they're going to all the parties, and they're building friendships with their counterparts. They don't want to be nagging them all the time," she added.

Continuing with her warning, she said: "Even if you've just had a friendly dispute, people can fabricate a claim against you. Even if there's no CCTV, there's no evidence of it, if the complainant gets to the police station first, he is automatically believed over the other person. A lot of people will now report cases involving other people just to protect themselves."

Many think that by "following the law", they will be able to avoid getting in trouble, but that's no longer the case, says Radha (Getty Images/arabianEye)

Radha says that though the country has been trying to reform itself into a Middle Eastern hub of modernity and progress, the persecution of tourists won't change any time soon because Emirati visitors aren't concerned about the plight visitors face. Most of the time, it actually benefits them should they come across a Brit they're not too fond of, she adds.

“On the one hand, you know, the Dubai sort of wants to become that more modern place," she tells The Mirror. “But, yeah, the legal system certainly hasn't caught up. You've still got laws that criminalize private communications on WhatsApp. Even conversations between married and couples and friends." She said that one Brit was even arrested after calling her flatmate "vindictive" during a WhatsApp conversation.

Once inside the prisons, the situation becomes far worse. Radha said the worst lock up is the al-Sadr maximum security penetentiary in Abu Dhabi, which is where Andy was held among other narco crime suspects. "I'd say these prisons are really terrible. If you're in there and you start talking to the media, they threaten you, they beat you. They tell you to make a phone call to your parents to stop advocating for you on the outside. There are forced confessionals, beatings, torture, we've had a death in custody. British courts will not extradite to the UAE based on the real risk of human rights violations in the prisons. It's really dire."

Ryan Fahey