Canadian man imprisoned in Oman faces extradition to Dubai

The family of a Canadian man imprisoned in Oman have appealed to the Canadian government to block his extradition to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where faces jail on fraud charges.

André Gauthier already spent 18 months in detention without charge in the UAE between 2015 to 2017 after he was reportedly falsely accused of embezzlement.

On release, he attempted to travel back to Canada through Oman. However, in March 2019, the Omani authorities jailed Gauthier and stopped him from returning to his homeland while he waited to hear an appeal on an eight-year sentence handed down by the UAE authorities. He now faces extradition back to the UAE.

His family have appealed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to step in and stop Gauthier from being returned to Dubai, where they say he faces potential human rights violations and has little chance of a fair trial.

“We no longer trust the system, we fear for his life,” his son, Alexis Gauthier, said in a phone interview.

“He’s 65 years old, an old man. He has high blood pressure, and we’re very scared about all of this because every single time something happens, it makes no sense.”