Take a stand against injustice and support the campaign to free innocent people languishing in Dubai prisons.
Dubai spends millions on advertising all over Britain, Europe and the world. They want to draw in tourism and business and are willing to distort the truth about the Emirate (of Saudi Arabia) to lure you there.
Dozens of foreign travelers and holiday-makers are arrested every week. The authorities are paid bonuses in return for convictions which they will go to any lengths to get. When you are arrested they will take your belongings, level accusations at you (usually more than one), coerce you into signing confessions under the false promise of being immediately deported, and will deny you access to legal representation.
If you plead guilty, you'll be sentences and can take a gamble that the Sheik will pardon you: rarely do foreign prisoners spend more than a year behind bars after conviction due to the generous pardoning system. The idea is to demonstrate that Dubai is 'tough on crime' yet 'benevolent'.
If you plead innocent, you will need to shell out $50,000 US Dollars before a lawyer will even take your case. You will also sit in limbo in their system and without charge for up to a year. The conviction rate is unpublished, but believed by most human rights organizations to be in th 90%'s.
Your embassy will do little to help you. You will not have reliable access to phones, legal aid, toilets and showering facilities, and dietary needs. You will be crammed twenty to a cell designed for three. You will also run a risk of contracting Hepatitis C and AIDS in the unsanitary conditions in their prison..
IT IS NOT WORTH THE RISK.
Tell your company that you are unwilling to travel there, print the articles on this site for the review of your superiors and distribute them around to your colleagues.
There are many beautiful cities and sandy beaches in the world that you can visit where you do NOT face this risk. Please travel safely, and strike Dubai off your list until their laws are changed and prisoners are released.
