Gulf in Justice

1 December 2021:  ITV Report:  A British football coach handed a 25-year sentence in a Dubai prison after being found with four bottles of CBD vape oil has had his sentenced reduced to 10 years on appeal.  Billy Hood, 25, from Kensington, London, was arrested shortly after moving to the county in January this year after being found with four small bottles of CBD vape oil in his car.  The liquid - which is legal in the UK - contains trace elements of THC, the psychoactive component of cannabis, which is illegal in the United Arab Emirates.  Dubai authorities took a signed confession from the football coach, but the 24-year-old said he was coerced into agreeing to the document - which was also written in Arabic, a language he cannot speak, read or write. As a result, Mr Hood was charged with trafficking the oil and given a far harsher punishment than expected.  But, earlier this week, his case was brought in front of an Abu Dhabi appeal court, which recognised that he had "unintentionally possessed" the drugs but had no intent to supply them.  His term was subsequently reduced by 15 years.  On Wednesday, his mother said the sentence reduction "is not really welcomed" because her son "has done nothing wrong".  "We thought yesterday that we were going to find out that Billy was going to be able to come home," she told BBC Breakfast.  "He has been told that the charges have been dropped against him and yet he is still there for another 10 years. It is heart-breaking, absolutely heart-breaking."  Family of Londoner jailed in Dubai face six week wait for vape oil appeal Campaigners have welcomed the reduction but claim that it is still far too high, as they say there was no evidence of trafficking or selling.  Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, a group which is lobbying for Mr Hood's release, said: "The UAE has just claimed they will eliminate prison sentences for foreigners found to be in possession of THC products, opting for deportation instead but this law does not come into effect until January 2022 and may not apply retroactively."  In October, while speaking to ITV News, Mr Hood's mother, Breda Guckion, and uncle, David, received a call from him, as he described the poor conditions in his prison and said he still doesn’t have a mattress after a week inside.  “The conditions here are shocking, I still haven’t got a mattress after seven days of being moved in... I’ve got literally 15 or 20 seconds, it’s going to cut out,” he said.  “We all love you and we’re never giving up on you, never, ever,” Ms Guckion said to him.  “We’re all being punished, every single day, we’re doing life with him. The only thing is he’s in hell and we’re not,” she added.

A football coach who was jailed in Dubai after four bottles of vape liquid containing cannabis oil were found in his car has had his sentence reduced.  Billy Hood, 24, claims he was forced to sign a confession written in Arabic despite not speaking the language.  He was originally jailed for 25 years but had his sentence reduced to 10 years at an Abu Dhabi court on Tuesday, campaign group Detained in Dubai said.

Detained in Dubai chief executive Radha Stirling said Mr Hood was "forced to confess to federal crimes with promises of his imminent release". "He was given both a carrot and a stick, so some prosecutor could get his dues. It's all too familiar a story," she said.  "Dubai's overzealous prosecution has ruined this young man's life and put him and his family through hell."

Detained in Dubai chief executive Radha Stirling said Mr Hood was "forced to confess to federal crimes with promises of his imminent release".  "He was given both a carrot and a stick, so some prosecutor could get his dues. It's all too familiar a story," she said.  "Dubai's overzealous prosecution has ruined this young man's life and put him and his family through hell."  The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was "giving consular support to a British man who has been imprisoned in the UAE".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qo6nV48d-7w&t=163s

Detained in Dubai: The Scammer’s Gold Mine — Romance Scams— Socialcatfish.com   The first contact was Radha Stirling, a lawyer based out of London. She specializes in getting westerners out of prison in Dubai when they are wrongfully detained. Her position has put her on the front lines in the war against these scams. Radha regularly sees people losing millions of dollars from these exact types of situations.  She gave us insights into Yvette’s case as well as informed us about how stopping this billion-dollar international scam industry is going on her end. Dealing with a potentially corrupt system that is facilitating these scams isn’t helping her help these victims, but that hasn’t stopped her from pushing on.    As we were conducting the interview, the situation intensified. Yvette was distraught. Every day, Charles was texting her from his dark and cold jail cell. Alone, hungry, and contemplating suicide. Yvette was on the verge of sending him $75,000. Our search specialist was able to talk her out of it just long enough for us to gather enough information to close this case.  Radha let us know that Charles could not possibly be sitting in a jail in Dubai. There could be no case number found at the US embassy, and none of the legal aspects of his story made any sense. Although Dubai’s legal system was not squeaky clean, it certainly was not holding a US special forces soldier hostage and texting his terrified significant other for Ransom.  #DetainedinDubai #RomanceScams #catfish #dubai #UAE

State of Flo produced a song dedicated to the #FreeAlbert campaign.  Albert has been locked up in Dubai for more than nine months.  He was beaten in Al Ain prison by guards and is now scheduled for multiple surgeries in Dubai to mend his broken bones.  His family have called on Sheikh Mohammed, the Dubai ruler, to allow him to return home to the UK to undergo medical treatment.

Albert was arrested for bounced cheques but forensics have since proved they were not his.  He has also been cleared of parallel civil cases, essentially exonerating him from the original criminal cases.

Detained in Dubai: http://www.detainedindubai.org

Billy Hood to remain in prison for further six weeks says Abu Dhabi court Detained in Dubai CEO, Radha Stirling, has confirmed in a Gulf in Justice Podcast announcement that Billy Hood will need to report to court on the 30th of November.  “The court is now in possession of damning documents that show Dubai police have basically manufactured a case against Billy. This is not the first time and if the British government doesn’t insist things change in the UAE, it won’t be the last”, said Ms Stirling.  “Billy has already spent a horrendous nine months in a Dubai jail notorious for human rights violations after being forced to confess to serious crimes in Arabic. Adding yet another delay to his freedom and the review of his defence evidence is gutting to the family and to Billy. Every day an innocent man spends a day in prison is a travesty.  “Albert Douglas has been locked up for nine months too. He was forced to sign a confession and was beaten by police causing him to be hospitalised to repair his broken bones. Lee Bradley Brown was killed in police custody and yet the British FCDO has done nothing but trade deals. They are essentially complicit by remaining muted over these abuses.”  “The families of Billy Hood and Albert Douglas are calling for increased travel warnings and sanctions against the UAE while the EU parliament voted to boycott Dubai’s expo.  “The families have also appealed to Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum to review the evidence and help these men get home to their families”

"A 24-year-old football coach has been sentenced to 25 years in prison in Dubai after police discovered 4 small bottles of CBD oil, which he claimed were left in his car by a fellow Londoner he'd driven to the airport two weeks earlier.

Despite being able to prove they weren't his, Billy Hood was forced to sign a confession written in Arabic and convicted of trafficking, selling and possessing CBD. Billy's mother, uncle and friend joins Ben and Susanna as well as the founder of Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling."

“Qatar reminds me of the Eagles song, “Hotel California”.  In the beginning you think that you are in heaven but sooner than later you find yourself in the deepest pits of Hell”.

“I managed to survive divorce, death of loved ones, disability and being a single mom, but what QNB put me through sucked the life out of me, and broke me. I believe that the post-traumatic stress that I have faced as a result of this experience has changed my outlook on life. I will never be the same.”

A British national, John Nicholas was also wrongfully listed on Qatar's Interpol Red Notice database by Qatar National Bank for a small bank loan which Mr Nicholas had almost entirely discharged by the time he left Qatar. QNB added atrocious charges to try to escalate the claiming amount beyond Interpol's minimum 15,000 Euro threshold for a Red Notice.

“QNB and other Qatar based banks have been repeat abusers of Interpol’s Red Notice database,” said Radha Stirling, an expert witness, leading voice in the fight against ‘Interpol Abuse’ and founder of IPEX (Interpol & Extradition) Reform.  “It’s absurd that Qatar has been permitted by Interpol to use their database as a means to collect bank and credit card debts from foreign nationals.  Banks have pressured Qatari law enforcement to report even small debtors to Interpol, with a view to having them detained abroad and pressured to discharge credit cards and loans. This is clearly against INTERPOL’s charter and a violation of their membership agreement but Interpol would rather accept the donations from Middle Eastern countries and remain silent, than to punish them for abusing Interpol’s power and reputation.

“Alan Stevenson was detained in Prague on a frivolous notice and David Blackhouse was pulled from his car in Britain as though he were an international fugitive.

“Interpol has become a pay to play organisation, open to manipulation and abuse by countries with poor human rights records. Countries like the UAE, Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain, Iran, Turkey, Russia, Egypt and China have been able to use the crime tool for their own personal vendettas.

“Countries like Qatar and the UAE,  have used Interpol’s reach to extend their jurisdiction beyond their borders, causing the arrest, detention and prosecution abroad of many innocent victims. Innocent individuals have been listed on Interpol, arrested, detained and tried for “crimes'' that don’t even meet Interpol’s minimum reporting criteria. Journalists, activists, businessmen and credit card debtors have been locked up in Western nations at the mere request of countries who repeatedly take advantage of their membership with Interpol.

“We have managed to remove numerous Qatar issued arrest warrants for violating Interpol’s charter and it’s certainly time that Interpol themselves were legally held to account.

“Nancy has suffered greatly as a result of the wrongful red notice.  It is time US policy makers review Interpol’s sovereign immunity and promote the accountability of such powerful organisations.  Nancy’s name will be removed from Interpol’s database but she will not be compensated, she will not get an apology, and this will happen again and again until powerful countries recognise the damage a frivolous notice can cause”.

Calls on the UK to follow the European Parliament example and boycott Dubai Expo, over human rights concerns after British prisoner reports on beating and torture by Emirates guards.

Last week, London grandfather Albert Douglas was undergoing surgery in a Dubai hospital when CID agents entered his room, demanding he make a propaganda video thanking Sheikh Mohammed and the Dubai prison guards “or else”.

Albert reported the incident to the UK government who were declined access to visit him in the hospital after he refused to partake in the “media video”.  Albert has suffered a number of injuries after being beaten in prison by guards, raising the case of Lee Bradley Brown, who was killed by police in Bur Dubai police station a decade ago.

Talking to his son Wolfgang, Albert describes his horrifying detention in Dubai.

“The European Parliament voted to boycott Dubai’s Expo last week”, said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai and host of the Gulf in Justice Podcast.  “Baroness Whitaker and Andy Slaughter, MP, have called on the UK to sanction the UAE and increase travel warnings to British nationals, citing the country as ‘unsafe’.  Albert’s case gives the UK every reason to demand his release and that the UAE take steps to make the country and judicial system fair and safe for visitors and expats”.

The inside story of Princess Latifa, who tried and failed to escape from her influential father. Radha Stirling, one of Latifa’s confidantes, tells RT about details of the drama and plans to file a legal case against the UAE in the American courts.

by Chris Sweeney is an author and columnist who has written for newspapers such as The Times, Daily Express, The Sun and Daily Record, along with several international-selling magazines.

Stirling believes Sheikh Mohammed has put in place a sophisticated media propaganda plan to control the narrative of the affair, and assure the world that all is fine now. If so, it’s working. This week, after the release of the Iceland picture, the Free Latifa campaign group – which Stirling and Jaubert broke with years ago – announced it was shutting down.

Jaubert, the former French intelligence officer, is adamant that all this is being staged and manipulated by Dubai. “It is difficult to reconcile that the woman who planned her escape for seven years and who recently released videos speaking of the pressure Dubai had bestowed upon her to agree to their ‘propaganda’ plan, is truly free,” he says. “I hope she is. In any event, she should never have been kidnapped from a US-flagged yacht in international waters. She was abducted and forced against her will to Dubai, with the help of India. We intend to pursue justice for the victims and accountability for those who orchestrated the violent, military attack on ‘Nostromo’."

He and Stirling say they are about to file a legal case against the UAE in American courts.

“Latifa has created her own legacy and that was something she communicated to me,” Stirling concludes. “That even if she didn't make it, she would be happy at least to leave a mark on the world that things might change in the future.

“That women [in the Middle East] are going to have more freedom in the future is because her case will be known about.

“As far as my own legacy, I want to ensure things like this cannot happen, that the UAE does not feel emboldened to do whatever they want, wherever they want.

Gulf in Justice Podcast with Radha Stirling - Shocking interview with Wolfgang Douglas on the #FreeAlbert campaign

Shocking interview with Wolfgang Douglas reveals Albert Douglas has been suffering a dislocated shoulder since being beaten in a UAE prison.

After extensive campaigning and complaints to the British government, Albert was finally seen by a medical professional who was “stunned” that he had not been to hospital.  Albert was told that he would need surgery to mend his broken shoulder but that surgery wouldn’t take place for another several months.  This comes on top of his dizzy spells, his vision problems and the denial of his heart medication.

“He’s laid there for the last six months in pain from the beatings, despite being 100% categorically innocent”, explains Wolfgang.  The prosecution told Albert “we know you’re not guilty, but this is Dubai”.  All of this is happening in a country that the UK goes out of its way to promote, even covering up human rights violations.  Wolfgang tells of his trouble with the British FCDO who he says have perpetuated the lies told by the UAE in respect of Albert having been denied his medication.

Detained in Dubai CEO and Gulf in Justice host Radha Stirling highlights corruption within the UAE judiciary, noting that Albert and his family have been targeted by police, by Sheikhs and by expats and lawyers seeking money to get him free.  “When they become successful, they become a target.  This is an ongoing issue in the UAE, that when someone is imprisoned, a lot of people will come forward to the family and ask them for money who then just keep the money. He’s become prey to a system that allows for that, and then we have people like Lord Udny-Lister in the UK, promoting the country as a safe place to invest.  He is not even mentioning that so many investors in the UAE have ended up scapegoated or victimised.  It’s not like the UK where you’re afforded a fair trial and where you can defend yourself and prove your innocence.

“When people visit the UAE, they expect an equivalent glitzy, glamorous legal system to match the 7 star hotels.  Albert had faith that he would be able to prove his innocence.  He had all of the evidence to do so but wasn’t even afforded the chance.  He couldn’t get a judge to look at it beyond 5 minutes.”

Albert Douglas had been a huge supporter of the UAE from the beginning.  Wolfgang has made it a mission to warn investors and businesses of the real risks Dubai poses.  “For a little bit of money, you risk your humanity and your life”.

Listen to the Gulf in Justice Podcast before you go to Dubai.