UAE: 'Shocking' lack of protection for British women in Gulf state, says report

British ladies face a “stunning” lack of safety and rights within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which the UK authorities is failing to deal with, based on a brand new report launched by a cross-party fact-finding panel.

The report relies on testimony from quite a lot of British ladies who had confronted abuse, arbitrary detention and even sexual assault within the UAE.

The investigating panel, composed of MPs Peter Bottomley and Debbie Abrahams and barrister Helena Kennedy QC, amongst others, discovered that the Emirati justice system was “open to abuse and able to manipulation” and mentioned the proof introduced “demonstrated a sample of breaches of worldwide requirements within the UAE prison justice system”.

They added that consular help supplied by the UK, an in depth ally of the UAE, to ladies going through abuse and detention within the nation had “fallen far wanting expectations”.

In keeping with the report, the British International & Commonwealth Workplace (FCO) recorded over 1,350 detentions of British ladies within the UAE from 2011 to 2016. It added that there had doubtless been a whole lot extra detained since 2016, however the FCO had not launched any new figures since then.

Amongst these interviewed was the authorized consultant of a lady known as “Girl A”, who’s at the moment nonetheless being held in detention within the UAE and has stored her identification secret due to threats in opposition to her household.

Talking at a press convention to launch the report on Wednesday, Tiina Jauhiainen – a former UAE resident who tried to assist Dubai Princess Sheikha Latifa  flee an alleged kidnapping by her father, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – mentioned that international ladies ought to rethink plans to journey to the nation sooner or later.

“Firstly I might ask them to get a duplicate of this report and browse it, do some background analysis,” she mentioned, talking through Zoom. “I might truly advise them to assume twice earlier than going to the UAE and never be fooled by this picture of a secure, tolerant society they attempt to painting.”

Princess Latifa was kidnapped in 2018 at sea, off the coast of India, after trying to flee the UAE. She has since despatched requires assist from her captivity within the UAE, whereas additionally calling for a renewed investigation into the disappearance of her sister, Shamsa, 20 years in the past.

Lack of British help

The UAE has hit the headlines a number of instances in recent times after detaining and abusing British residents.

Amongst them was Ali Issa Ahmad, a 28-year-old from the town of Wolverhampton, who was arrested within the UAE in 2019 after attending an Asian Cup soccer match there, and detained between 23 January and 12 February 2019; and Matthew Hedges, a scholar who was arrested in Might 2018 over spying allegations and sentenced to life imprisonment earlier than ultimately being pardoned.

Some campaigners have known as on the UK authorities to regulate the journey recommendation for the UAE on the FCO web site, to deal with the potential hazard of arbitrary detention. At current, the recommendation on the web site warns that “displaying sympathy for Qatar on social media or by every other technique of communication is an offence” within the nation.

‘I used to be actually sat at dwelling for weeks, months, crying, depressed… all I wanted was somebody to say “This is not proper, you want to give our citizen her passport again”‘

– Asa Hutchinson

Nonetheless, there is no such thing as a suggestion that British residents ought to keep away from journey to the UAE, as there’s with different international locations thought of dangerous.

Asa Hutchinson – who had her passport confiscated and was sentenced in absentia to a few months in jail within the Emirates – advised the press convention on Wednesday that she had acquired “brutally low” ranges of help from British diplomats throughout her ordeal.

“Im on the market alone, I used to be 22 on the time, the prosecutors, the police, nobody was on my facet… however then I additionally had no English help both,” she mentioned. “I used to be actually sat at dwelling for weeks, months, crying, depressed… all I wanted was somebody to say, ‘This is not proper, you want to give our citizen her passport again.'”

Ties strengthened

Regardless of these studies, the UK and UAE have strengthened financial ties in recent times.

In March, the two international locations launched a sovereign funding partnership price virtually £1bn, which the UK’s International, Commonwealth and Improvement Workplace mentioned would “deepen present UK-UAE commerce and funding ties that have been price £32bn in 2019”.

One other girl interviewed for the report was Caitlin McNamara, who says she was sexually assaulted by a senior Emirati official whereas working in Abu Dhabi at a literary pageant.

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McNamara has beforehand mentioned that she could be supportive of sanctions being levelled in opposition to her alleged abuser, Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al-Nahyan, the UAE’s minister of tolerance.

She additionally launched a authorized declare in April after the Crown Prosecution Service mentioned they’d not be pursuing the case.

“Regardless of all of my information of the area and expertise working for the International Workplace, I wasn’t absolutely conscious of my threat working as a lady within the UAE, and for me to not concentrate on that regardless of… engaged on a pageant that celebrates freedom of expression… I believe doesn’t provide a lot hope, extra broadly,” she advised the panel.

She added that the UK authorities recommendation was nonetheless missing, notably with occasions similar to Expo 2020 at the moment happening in Dubai.

“So, I believe I ought to have, earlier than I went on the market, had extra data… data ought to have been accessible extra broadly in regards to the dangers working there as a lady,” she mentioned. “And I believe that might even be my recommendation now going forwards, notably with the Expo arising and, you already know, are ladies speculated to not go to that?”

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