JackBootedThug
Veteran XV
Russian Gangsters Help Jailed Brits in Dubai Prison
Three men allegedly tortured by police before spending a year in a Dubai prison for a crime they did not commit today said going to the Gulf state had been the worst mistake of their lives.
Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh, all 26, claim they were repeatedly beaten and abused after being arrested and jailed for four years on drugs charges while on holiday in Dubai last year.
They were pardoned last month and have now been reunited with their families.
Still traumatised by their ordeal, they are planning to set up a charity to help the prisoners left behind.
Mr Cameron, who ignored his girlfriend’s warning that the trip would be trouble, said: “Going there was the worst mistake of my life. There are people in those prisons who aren’t as lucky as us.
“They have no family to fight for them, no cash to get legal assistance. Now we have survived, we feel that it is our duty to fight for them.”
The men said had it not been for their families, help from charities Reprieve and Prisoners Abroad and Prime Minister David Cameron - who campaigned for their release on a visit to the United Arab Emirates in May - they would still be “rotting in a cell”.
Mr Williams said: “Dubai is beautiful but people do not understand the dangers that come with that place. People are arrested for having a drink because police officers are bored.”
The three described Dubai as “crazy” in its approach to law and order.
Mr Jeerh said “It was like Groundhog Day in jail, there was a constant threat of violence.”
The trio claim they were given rotting food and were forced to endure filthy conditions during their imprisonment.
Their ordeal began when Mr Cameron and Mr Williams, both from Wanstead, north-east London, went on holiday to visit Mr Jeerh, from Ilford, east London, who had moved to Dubai a month earlier to work in marketing.
They hired a car but say they found a bag in the car which turned out to be synthetic cannabis - known as spice.
They said they reported it to the man who rented them the car who convinced them it was tobacco.
The next thing they knew, they were arrested, driven out into the desert and allegedly beaten. Mr Williams also claims police used electric shock torture on his testicles.
They said they only survived in prison because Russian gangsters took them under their wing.
Wrongly jailed Brits say visiting Dubai was the worst mistake of their lives - UK - News - London Evening Standard
Three men allegedly tortured by police before spending a year in a Dubai prison for a crime they did not commit today said going to the Gulf state had been the worst mistake of their lives.
Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh, all 26, claim they were repeatedly beaten and abused after being arrested and jailed for four years on drugs charges while on holiday in Dubai last year.
They were pardoned last month and have now been reunited with their families.
Still traumatised by their ordeal, they are planning to set up a charity to help the prisoners left behind.
Mr Cameron, who ignored his girlfriend’s warning that the trip would be trouble, said: “Going there was the worst mistake of my life. There are people in those prisons who aren’t as lucky as us.
“They have no family to fight for them, no cash to get legal assistance. Now we have survived, we feel that it is our duty to fight for them.”
The men said had it not been for their families, help from charities Reprieve and Prisoners Abroad and Prime Minister David Cameron - who campaigned for their release on a visit to the United Arab Emirates in May - they would still be “rotting in a cell”.
Mr Williams said: “Dubai is beautiful but people do not understand the dangers that come with that place. People are arrested for having a drink because police officers are bored.”
The three described Dubai as “crazy” in its approach to law and order.
Mr Jeerh said “It was like Groundhog Day in jail, there was a constant threat of violence.”
The trio claim they were given rotting food and were forced to endure filthy conditions during their imprisonment.
Their ordeal began when Mr Cameron and Mr Williams, both from Wanstead, north-east London, went on holiday to visit Mr Jeerh, from Ilford, east London, who had moved to Dubai a month earlier to work in marketing.
They hired a car but say they found a bag in the car which turned out to be synthetic cannabis - known as spice.
They said they reported it to the man who rented them the car who convinced them it was tobacco.
The next thing they knew, they were arrested, driven out into the desert and allegedly beaten. Mr Williams also claims police used electric shock torture on his testicles.
They said they only survived in prison because Russian gangsters took them under their wing.
Wrongly jailed Brits say visiting Dubai was the worst mistake of their lives - UK - News - London Evening Standard