British Romany Gypsy businessman Albert Douglas imprisoned and tortured in United Arab Emirates prison system
Grandfather of five Albert Douglas is now sentenced to three years in prison in Dubai for a ‘bounced cheque’ he didn’t write
‘Gypsy Lives Matter!’ – hundreds of supporters, including Romany Gypsy businessman Alfie Best, rally in support outside Parliament
Campaigners reach out to Tyson Fury for support
UK Government Foreign Office pressured into prison visit
NEW DEVELOPMENT - Dubai authorities now re-examining handwriting on cheque Albert says he didn’t write
“I’ve never left anyone behind” – exclusive interview with human rights lawyer hero Radha Stirling who is spearheading campaign
Travellers’ Times supports lobbying letter writing campaign to UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab
The campaign to bring Romany Gypsy and British citizen Albert Douglas home from a “hellhole” prison cell in Dubai is gathering pace after hundreds of supporters rallied outside Parliament last weekend.
Businessman Albert Douglas, who is a grandfather of five, has been imprisoned for three years in Dubai after holding out against torture and refusing to confess to a crime he didn’t commit, say campaigners.
Albert Douglas was arrested and all his assets seized after his son’s separate flooring business in Dubai failed. He was charged and imprisoned for three years following torture and deprivation of food, water and sleep. Albert Douglas, who supporters say is ‘the nicest gentleman you ever meet’, was also deprived of crucial medication for his heart condition. His son Wolfgang Douglas had to flee Dubai after he became enmeshed in their “corrupt” justice system where a single bouncing cheque is an automatic three-year prison sentence. Albert Douglas at first stayed behind and tried to defend himself, because he had committed no crime, he says, but then had to flee and was caught by the United Arab Emirates authorities at the border.
Speaking to the Travellers’ Times, Wolfgang Douglas said the experience had opened his eyes to the “corrupt” legal system in Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates.
“I was naïve,” says Wolfgang Douglas. “OK, I knew that Saudi Arabia was a dangerous place, but Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates has good PR and I fell for it and my dad was doing well there. Dubai touts itself as a good place to do business, and as a glamourous tourist destination, and also as a hub for big sporting events such as boxing and football; it says it is the Las Vegas of the Middle East. But it doesn’t have a legal system. It has no human rights. They don’t exist. And me and my father opened our businesses there in good faith.”
Last weekend hundreds of campaigners rallied outside Parliament to demand that the UK Government act and bring Albert home. Prominent Romany Gypsy businessman Alfie Best was there and spoke at the rally.
WATCH A VIDEO OF THE FREE ALBERT RALLY OUTSIDE PARLIAMENT
Alfie Best called for the release of Albert, criticising the human rights violations and beatings, adding ‘Gypsy Lives Matter’. The campaign is also being supported by celebrities and influencers like Claire Sweeney, Henry Simmons & Daisy O’Donnell.
Popular ‘Absolutely Ascot’ star Henry Simmons has also issued a call for Albert Douglas’s release from a Dubai jail. “Albert Douglas, has been wrongfully imprisoned in an unfair justice System, where he’s been beaten and subjected to countless human rights violations during his detention so far,” he said in a message to supporters. “He needs your help to get home. Please everyone can we get this father/ grandfather back home where he belongs”, Henry Simmons said.
......“Media coverage and community support matters,” said Radha Stirling, who has represented or been involved in 15,000 cases of detention in Dubai. “Just one little message from Tyson Fury matters,” she said. “The community support in Albert Douglas’s case, plus media coverage, is important in bringing him home.”
Read the full article at Travellers Times