A petition to #FreeBillyHood has already gained a record 110,000+ signatures since the case was brought to the media two weeks ago. The family are hoping to gain 150,000 signatures which would rank the campaign amongst the top petitions in Change.Org’s history.
“Britons genuinely care about Billy Hood”, explained Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, who is helping the family. “People who have read the case, can see that Billy had indeed followed the law but unfortunately has wound up charged with crimes he most certainly has not committed. The public sees a young athlete who went to Dubai to expand his life experiences and work on his personal goals. He was working as a football coach, training 6 days a week and had his whole life ahead of him. It was taken away from him suddenly and through no fault of his own and his whole life appears to be over. It’s just quite shocking.
“People can see how easily it could happen and that it could happen to someone they love. They simply don’t want to see Billy lose his life over this”.
Billy’s mother Breda has appealed to the ruler of Abu Dhabi to pardon her son and let him come home.
Meanwhile, lawyers for Billy expect a final judgment on the 30th of November. “It’s a nerve wracking time, just waiting for the outcome”, Breda confirmed. “Billy was hoping he wouldn’t have to wait so long. It’s agonising”.
Billy’s friend, Ali, who left the CBD oil in the car has confirmed that he purchased it legally in London and had made a mistake in bringing it to Dubai. He had known other friends who vape in Dubai and thought it was legal. Ali is preparing evidence for the defence lawyers and hopes that Billy’s nightmare will be over soon.
Meanwhile, friends of Billy are approaching the football associations to support #FreeBillyHood. Best friend and football promoter Alfie Cain said “We are a close knit community and we all need to come together to fight as one when something like this happens. We can’t leave our boy behind”. Alfie led a massive protest in front of Parliament and is preparing a new demonstration to raise awareness and support for Billy.