Hi, I’m Ian. If you’re looking at these testimonials to help you decide whether or not to contact Detained in Dubai, my advice is to go for it. I was in a tricky situation and was beginning to despair when my wife persuaded me to contact Rahda. She immediately took control of the situation and was a catalyst for everything positive that happened thereafter. My family can’t thank her enough for her indefatigable and ultimately successful efforts to resolve my predicament. Don’t procrastinate, contact Radha. Her only goal is justice and she will selflessly do all that she can to achieve that for you. Thank you Radha and your team at Detained in Dubai - Ian Mackellar. The Times: Ian Mackellar, who was arrested after a row over a noisy party, flew home last week. He tells of his shock at his ordeal. The first thing Ian Mackellar did when he got home on Tuesday was order fish and chips for his family. It was a moment he was not sure he would experience again. Six weeks ago, Mackellar, 75, was facing jail in Dubai after a dispute about a noisy New Year’s Eve party. He was running out of medicine for his heart condition, and his wife, Carol, feared he would not survive a prison sentence. Mackellar was finally allowed to fly home to Aberdeenshire last week after receiving support from lawyers at the legal organisation Detained in Dubai. Radha Stirling, the human rights lawyer who founded Detained in Dubai, said she was pleased the Dubai government had intervened in Mackellar’s case but that his dealings with the Emirati authorities should be seen as a “warning” to Britons. The Mackellars had flown to the United Arab Emirates in November to help their 43-year-old daughter move into her new home. They returned again in December. Late on New Year’s Eve, a neighbour’s party music was keeping their 18-month-old granddaughter awake. Mackellar, holding the screaming girl in his arms, approached the participants in their front garden to ask if they could move indoors. He received an aggressive response, with several partygoers pushing him and knocking the child’s bottle out of his hand. Mackellar said the hostess, a Lebanese woman, threw a drink over him and his granddaughter, leaving them “soaked”. Stirling said Mackellar’s case should serve as a warning to Britons travelling to or living in the UAE that the police “automatically prosecute on the basis of a verbal complaint made against British citizens, usually for vindictive or extortion reasons”. There have been several high-profile instances in recent years of Britons being held in Dubai. Jamie Harron, from Stirling, Perthshire, was arrested in 2017 for “public indecency” after touching a man on the hip to avoid spilling a drink in a crowded bar. His case was expedited after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the emirate’s ruler, ordered him to be freed. Stirling said of Mackellar’s case: “I am thankful that the Dubai government intervened in what was clearly a trivial matter that never should have escalated to the point where Ian risked over a year in prison. Most [foreign nationals] who are accused of a crime face months waiting for a court date, unable to return home or resume work, as well as suffering costly legal and hotel bills. If they are found guilty, which is usually the case, regardless of evidence, they will then face many months more of entanglement in the legal appeals process.” Full article here: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/facing-jail-in-dubai-was-hell-but-im-going-back-in-two-weeks-zwwmmq00b Detained in Dubai: http://www.detainedindubai.org Radha Stirling: http:///www.radhastirling.com Due Process International: http://www.dueprocess.international Podcast: http://www.gulfinjustice.news Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6KH20nwiZKSKEST4EyMHej Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/detainedindubai Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/detainedindubai2008 YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/detainedindubai Email: info@detainedindubai.org

Laleh Shahrahvesh discusses her Dubai ordeal and how Radha Stirling of Detained in Dubai helped her return safely to England.

Detained in Dubai assisted British veteran John Murphy who faced assault allegations after a hotel misunderstanding in Abu Dhabi. 9 News Report: 2018 A British grandfather living in Dubai is facing up to three years in jail after touching a security guard on the hip. John Murphy, 52, from London, has already spent six weeks in a “baking hot” prison eating “rotting garbage”, according to Detained in Dubai, an organisation which helps expats who get into trouble in the Middle East. Murphy is resident in Dubai and working as operations manager at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building. But a night out at the Armed Forces and Officers Club in neighbouring emirate Abu Dhabi with his wife and her cousin, led to a charge of sexual assault. According to a press release posted online by Detained in Dubai, Mr Murphy said the cousin was a sports masseuse and the hotel thought he was there to massage without permission. As they argued with staff that wasn’t the case, Mr Murphy said security got involved. He said a guard and a manager “turned on him” and he feared he was “about to be assaulted”. He told Detained in Dubai: “I needed to escape and used a trick my father had once shown me. “With the biggest guy, the one in front of me, I tugged his jacket on the left side with my left hand, and gave a slight push on his right hip, to the left with my right hand. “This manoeuvre allowed me to dart past him and head down the corridor to the lift where there were a lot of people. “I was kind of bracing myself for them to come after me but they didn’t. I got in the lift, my heart pounding, and went to my room. Even then I was half expecting a knock at the door during the night. But none came, and I eventually thought that the matter was over.” However, Mr Murphy was advised to make a police report and complaint about the hotel, which he did. Police later turned up at his work, saying the men at the hotel had accused him of sexual assault. After ten days in cells, during which he was taken to court hearings in Arabic, he was moved to “terrifying” Al Wathba jail. He said in the statement: “It was baking hot all the time, the food was little more than rotting garbage, and the place was so overcrowded that people had to take it in turns to sleep. It smelled powerfully of sweat, faeces and sewerage. The sanitary conditions were shocking and people were always sick. “The slightest cut would quickly lead to infection and there was no chance of any medical attention.” He is now out of prison on bail but will be sentenced later this week and could face up to three years. According to Detained in Dubai, the charge is “commonly laid by Arabic men against Western men.” Scot Jamie Harron was jailed for three months last year after brushing past a man in a bar. The case was later dropped. Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling, said in a statement: “If the UAE wishes to continue to promote itself as a tourist destination, serious judicial reform is required. For every case that is published, thousands more are not and the government can not continue to ignore problems that desperately need change while simultaneously promoting itself as a modern and safe country. “We hope the hotel will see to it that the charges are dropped and that the government of Abu Dhabi swiftly intervenes to assist Mr Murphy return home.”

"Hi I'm Nichole Coffel and if it weren't for Radha Stirling, when I got arrested and Detained in Abu Dhabi, UAE for crimes I didn't commit, I'd still be locked up abroad. Thank you Radha for my freedom" Read more: Missouri mother & horse bite victim faces 5 years in UAE jail for requesting unpaid wages Missouri mother of 3, Traci Nichole Coffel (Nichole), is facing a possible jail term in Abu Dhabi because she asked for her unpaid wages and compensation for medical bills after her employer’s horse bit her. Instead of paying Nichole what she owed, celebrated UAE jockey, Anoud Sultan Al Suwaidi filed a complaint on June 9th against her with the police, alleging Nichole violated Cybercrime laws by insulting her in the messages she sent requesting her wages. Nichole had not been paid for 3 months, and had suffered a severe injury when Al Suwaidi’s stallion bit her. In her WhatsApp messages to Al Suwaidi, Nichole pleaded for her salary and compensation, telling her that it was “haram” not to pay people; using the Arabic word for “religiously forbidden” in an attempt to persuade Al Suwaidi. In her complaint to police, Suwaidi alleged that Nichole had called her “harami”, an Arabic word meaning “thief” or “bastard”; which is regarded as a serious insult in the Gulf. According to UAE Cybercrime laws, any perceived insult or slander communicated via electronic means is treated as a criminal act, with sentences ranging from fines to lengthy prison sentences and Nichole was told by Abu Dhabi police that she faces up to 5 years in prison. “Nichole did not threaten or insult Ms Al Suwaidi, she simply asked to be paid for her work and for her injuries,” says Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, who has taken up Nichole’s case. “The police who registered the complaint did not speak English, and the language Nichole used in her messages was mistranslated. Nichole herself was held for hours and questioned without a translator until finally the US embassy insisted they provide one remotely. Nichole's request for payment was calculatedly misconstrued in order to fit the UAE’s opaque definition of a Cybercrime violation, and to distract from Ms Al Suwaidi’s own responsibility to pay Nichole’s wages.” “We have contacted Ms Al Suwaidi to encourage her to drop the charges,” Radha Stirling says, “We have contacted the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi to request intervention, and we have reached out to Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri to seek his assistance. Ms Al Suwaidi is abusing her status as a public figure and as a local with influence in the UAE to deny Nichole her rights and wrongfully accuse her. This case is wholly unjustified and it has traumatised an innocent family, all to avoid paying the small sum Ms Al Suwaidi owes. If the charges are not dropped, the authorities should dismiss them as a clearly spiteful manipulation of the law.” https://www.detainedindubai.org/post/2019/08/25/missouri-mother-horse-bite-victim-faces-5-years-in-uae-jail-for-requesting-unpaid-wages

A British man stranded in Ukraine for a year over a bounced cheque he did not write has returned home. Robert Urwin, 68, from South Shields, was detained over claims he wrote the cheque for more than £30,000 in Dubai 13 years ago. He was cleared and released in Ukraine in December 2018 but was unable to travel home because of an Interpol red notice that remained in place. The Foreign Office said he arrived back in the UK on Saturday. Mr Urwin was accused of writing the cheque on his personal account while in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was paid into a branch of HSBC in Dubai in 2006, a year after he left the UAE, when it bounced. Campaign group Detained in Dubai said the bank asked Interpol to issue a red notice, which notifies member countries that a person is wanted. Mr Urwin was detained in Ukraine and faced extradition proceedings before being cleared. He successfully argued he was the victim of identity fraud but was unable to travel home because the red notice had not been removed from Interpol's database, Detained in Dubai said. Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said: "We appealed successfully to Interpol for the removal of the abusive red notice, and we received files from Ukrainian officials indicating that local police had no complaint against Robert in their database, yet he had still not been cleared to exit the country." She said it took more than 40 days since Interpol to delete the red notice, adding that the UK government "stepped-up" to help. HSBC and Interpol have been approached for comment.

"I'm Andre and I've been detained in Dubai for five years and a half for something I haven't done. If it were not for Radha, her team, my son and my friends, and the Canadian government, I probably would still be there today. Radha, her team and my sons have been the one who started everything, the process, to make sure that I will be able to come back home, safe and in good health. Exactly one year ago, they succeeded to get me out of jail and approximately 11 months later, they were able to repatriate me back to Canada. Since the time they have started their work, approximately two years ago, they have been working intensively in coordination with the Canadian government to make sure to bring me back safely. Again, thanks very much Radha and the entire team." André Gauthier is finally reunited with his family after years-long ordeal that left him scapegoated by members of Gold AE. “It seemed as though Gauthier’s nightmare would never end when he first contacted us”, said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai who represents the Gauthiers. Stirling interviewed André on her Gulf in Justice Podcast over the weekend. “There were dozens of cases against him, some of which could not be appealed anymore. André had tried everything he could to resolve the cases legally, spending hundreds of thousand on lawyers, when he contacted us after a failed attempt to flee via the Omani border. “It was certainly a complicated case. It involved Ponzi schemes, money laundering and royals. The investors in Gold AE who were defrauded, were wrongfully told to take cases against André. This would provide enough distraction for the scamsters to leave the country. They ended up setting up new and similar scams in Canada, which we reported to authorities. “Once we reviewed the substantial evidence of André’s innocence, we released a video appeal from Andre himself to end his arbitrary detention and brought the case to the media. This injustice needed to be heard. The Canadian media was outraged by the legal abuse. With significant interest, Andre’s son, Alexis, recruited Richard Martel, MP who raised André’s case in Parliament on several occasions, and to the attention of Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau who commented on the case. Martel is the Conservative deputy for Chicoutimi Fjord who worked relentlessly on André’s case, thanks to André’s brother for soliciting his help. Martel worked closely with the Canadian former foreign affairs minister, Francois Phillipe Champagne and his successor, Marc Garneau. A non-partisan effort was undertaken for the common goal to bring a Canadian citizen home, with former foreign minister Chrystia Freeland taking the initial steps. “Detained in Dubai works with foreign governments on a regular basis. We advised the Minister on how they could help André home, working tirelessly with them to support the process. It’s a whole different system in the UAE and most personnel have limited experience in the region. Our expertise is welcomed by diplomats. “The fact of the matter is that André was instrumental in exposing the Gold AE scandal, and accepted the task of trying to recover the stolen funds for investors, but ended up being a scapegoat. It was absolutely outrageous, and we are grateful for the Canadian government’s responsiveness to our calls for intervention and for welcoming our input. While it was frustrating for everyone involved that the resolution took so long, the UAE finally acknowledged André’s innocence, and ultimately that is all that matters. We'd like to thank the Francois-Phillippe Champagne, Canada's former minster of foreign affairs and his counterpart in the UAE, HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We look forward to future cooperations that ultimately will make the Emirates a safer place for investors in the future. “Detained in Dubai and the Gauthier family would like to thank the members of the Canadian government whose support was instrumental in freeing André. Without diplomatic support, André would likely have died in prison. Canada has set an impressive example of how foreign governments can overcome significant adversity in the Middle East. Other countries should take note. With such a precedent setting diplomatic rescue, it will be difficult for another other foreign government to claim they ‘can’t get involved’. “André and his family are extremely brave and very patient. His son Alexis, never gave up hope. He spent every single day lobbying politicians, diplomats, lawyers, and dealing with the media. The whole family deserves a holiday. André is in good spirits, isolating, and looking forward to a family reunion. I had the pleasure of speaking with him on the Gulf in Justice Podcast over the weekend, and look forward to meeting him in person. “André Gauthier has made significant financial losses as a result of his wrongful detention and we will fully explore all avenues of retribution.”

On his two year freedom anniversary, Artur Ligeska thanks Radha Stirling for her work in the campaign to #FreeArtur. Sadly, Artur passed away just days after sending this voicemail to Stirling. Artur Ligeska was tortured in Abu Dhabi prison before being exonerated of the charges against him. After his release, he wrote a book and released a documentary. Artur's memory will live on and we will always continue to advocate for the abuse of foreign nationals in the UAE to stop! We love you Artur.

"I'm Herve Jaubert, Captain of the yacht Nostromo. On March 4, 2018, we were attacked in a savage military style operation, led by Indian and UAE armed forces in international waters. Princess Latifa, and all of us onboard were abducted at gunpoint and Radha Stirling helped saved our lives. She raised the alert and reported our disappearance to the authorities and to the media. Thank you" More: Following the disappearance of Sheikha Latifa Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum and Jean Pierre Hervé Jaubert, in what can only be described as the most concerning of circumstances, Detained in Dubai (as per the wishes of the parties before their disappearance), has instructed an immediate complaint with the UN Special Procedures Branch, specifically the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment and the UN Office of the High Commission for Human Rights requesting their urgent and immediate intervention. Sheikha Latifa made an SOS call to Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, reporting gunshots while onboard a US registered yacht off the coast of India. It is believed she and her companions were kidnapped in what amounts to a serious breach of international laws. A video made by Sheikha Latifa outlines additional potential crimes, allegedly perpetrated by those whom she was fleeing. Ms Stirling issued a statement “On Sunday the 4th of March 2018, I received a harrowing call from Sheikha Latifa, reporting men outside and gunshots. She was in a panicked state and pleading for help 'Radha, please help me, please help me. There are men outside. I heard gunshots'. Sheikha Latifa disclosed to me her claims in respect of human rights violations, including unlawful imprisonment, torture and abuse. Contact was terminated suddenly and permanently with Hervé and Latifa. Despite enquiries, the whereabouts and status of the parties remains undisclosed. It is rumoured that she, at least, has been abducted and returned to the UAE against her will. Before the incident, I was in contact with both parties, who instructed me to assist them, especially in the event of their disappearance and that is what I am doing. We owe a duty of care to both parties to act, particularly when they are no longer able to act for themselves. Sheikha Latifa disclosed to me her claims in respect of human rights violations, including unlawful imprisonment, torture and abuse, perpetrated against her and her elder sister, as well as other serious crimes against others whom she identified; carried out under the authority of her father.

William Barclay had been accused of trying to exchange a fake £20 note during a family holiday. Radha Stirling, of Detained in Dubai, who represented Mr Barclay, said that without international support and publicity, he could have been held for many months, if not years, which has been the case with other British nationals. Mr Barclay said: "I was just glad to get out, see my family - that was the most important thing. On Wednesday, it was confirmed the case against him had been dropped and he would be able to return home. The father-of-two maintains his innocence and says he has no idea how he came into possession of the counterfeit cash. He also criticised how the UK embassy handled the situation, claiming he had no help. Mr Barclay said: "I don't know what a fake note looks like, that's the truth. "The (UK) embassy did nothing for me. The government over there only started helping me last night because of Radha Stirling's work. "If it wasn't for the press, I wouldn't be back today."