UN to review the UAE’s torture of British national Albert Douglas
A Petition on behalf of Albert Douglas to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment has been submitted.
Albert Douglas has been arbitrarily detained for 1.5 years in the UAE. During his detention, he has been subjected to grave human rights violations and torture. He has sustained permanent disabling injuries and broken bones after being beaten by prison authorities.
The British FCDO raised these concerns to the UAE who in turn, appointed a panel of medical experts to review his claims. Despite the acknowledgement and clear physical evidence that he had been beaten, he remains arbitrarily detained in Dubai and nothing so far has been done to bring the perpetrators to justice.
The Petition outlines his horrific injuries “Mr Douglas underwent surgery to repair some of his broken bones. His arm was placed in a sling. He was told he would need multiple further surgeries but that their schedule was “busy” and he would not be seen for at least six months. Because he was not given initial medical attention, his bones had mended out of shape and needed to be “re-broken” and realigned.
“Once back in prison, he was not given any painkillers. He was in agony and begged for a chair to sit down on but his request was ignored. He struggled to shower or use the toilet facilities because of his broken hand bones and shoulder”.
“From the time of his arrest, the Petitioner who is a frail older man, suffered extreme physical abuse to the point that he suffered permanent disability, broken bones and was rendered unconscious with bleeding from his head. He suffered sensory deprivation, was forced to drink from the toilet and threatened on a constant basis.
Ms Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai said “The treatment and ongoing detention of Mr Albert Douglas is appalling and heartbreaking. They have broken this poor grandfather and he is left with no option but to appeal to the United Nations to help secure his safety and freedom. Despite strong diplomatic ties, the UK government has not yielded any results diplomatically which is quite shocking, considering they have a duty to protect citizens from human rights violations. We have made submissions to the United Nations and hope they make representations to the UAE government as swiftly as possible. Albert needs to come home”.