Jamie Harron Freed
Jamie Harron has been released with immediate effect after the ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum exonerated him, charges have been dropped and the court sentence nullified .
Yesterday, a Dubai court sentenced Harron to 3 months in prison on public indecency charges after he accidentally touched another man's hip in a busy Dubai bar. Harron since launched an appeal and was not being held in custody whilst it was considered, though his passport had been confiscated and he was told he could not leave Dubai.
However, this morning Jamie received a call from Dubai police informing him that charges against him had been dropped and his sentence annulled. He subsequently collected his passport from the police station and was told he free to go and he faced no order for deportation.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, a UK based NGO who represented Harron said, “We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed for his personal intervention in this case, and for exonerating Jamie at long last. It has now been established that the allegations against Jamie were entirely unwarranted, defamatory, and meritless; to such an extent that the Ruler of the country found it necessary to step in and correct the wrongful action of the Public Prosecutor and to quash the judgment of the court.
This was a courageous and honourable decision on the part of Sheikh Mohammed, and while it highlights the urgent need for judicial reform in the country, it is also a hopeful sign that the UAE’s leadership possesses the will and vision to pursue such reforms in the future,”
According to Detained in Dubai, it is now expected that the Scotsman will initiate civil proceedings against Emad Tabaza and the company he works for; Neuman & Esser; “as the allegations against him have been definitively proven false and slanderous, and have caused him tremendous suffering and financial loss."
The 27 year old electrician from Stirling has already suffered hugely since his initial arrest in July. Harron is reported to have spent £30,000 in expenses and legal fees since the beginning ordeal and has subsequently lost his job. His parents, who were unable to visit him due to real risk of arrest after criticising the UAE regime, say that his life had been “ruined” by the episode.
Joe Odell, a spokesperson for the London based International Campaign for Freedom in the UAE, welcomed the news but called on the UAE authorities to do more to avert such cases in the future.
“Whilst we welcome the decision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum to exonerate Jamie Harron, we urgently call upon the UAE authorities to institute a judicial system that is in line with internationally recognised legal standards.
Since the Arab Spring of 2011, repression has been rapidly stepped up by the UAE authorities which has seen both Emiratis and non-Emiratis arbitrarily detained, forcefully disappeared, and in many cases tortured on the most frivolous of charges.
It is imperative that Jamie's case be understood within this wider climate of repression inside the country and that the British government do more to inform its citizens about the real risks and dangers of travelling to the country.”
- For comment, press queries, or more information, please contact joe@icfuae.org.uk or 44 7979 6666 98
- For Detained in Dubai's press release, please see,http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/stirling-och-partners/pressreleases/ruler-o...
