Shocking Call Lays Bare The Scandal Of "Justice" In The United Arab Emirates
22 November 2018, 10:34
This caller gave Nick Ferrari a terrifying first-hand account of how draconian the legal system is in the UAE.
Nick was discussing the Middle Eastern country after academic researcher Matthew Hedges was jailed for life after being accused of being a spy.
'Steve' called in to LBC to explain what happened when his wife was involved in an car accident in Abu Dhabi in which a child died.
And he said described the way the legal system worked was in the "dark ages".
He said: "My wife had a car accident which wasn't her fault. Sadly, a child came from between two cars on a scooter and he hit the side of her car. She was doing about 10mph on a suburban side road.
"My wife was on the phone in tears saying 'Come quickly, the police are here.' I dashed to her with an Emirati colleague because of the language barrier.
"She was arrested on the spot. We were in the local police station until midnight. Thank god my organisation, an Emirati organisation provided legal support. Without that, my wife would have had her first night in jail in the UAE in a local police station.
"She never went to jail, but was basically under house arrest in our home.
"It took six months to conclude. We had to - and were able to - prove that the car was going less than 10mph and the accident was on the side of the car.
"To the outside world, Dubai and Abi Dhabi is all glitz and glamour with five-star airlines. But they are in the absolute dark ages there when it comes to their legislative systems.
"What we saw in the local police station and what they have in the cells... we went to the local court where she was effectively charged. Everything was in Arabic, nothing in English.
"We saw people in a holding area just shackled, chains around their wrists and ankles."
