Gulf prisoners & human rights victims say “Liz Truss UNFIT for PM”
“If she can’t even discharge her duties as Foreign Minister”, says a British grandfather locked up in Dubai, “how on earth is she fit to run the country? She doesn't deserve a promotion, she deserves to be fired!”
At least thirteen Dubai prisoners were asked to sign an agreement that they would be happy to be transferred back to the UK. “The men who signed an agreement for a prisoner exchange were elated to be coming home, especially grandfather Albert Douglas who has been officially confirmed to have been beaten and tortured by prison guards”, explains Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai who regularly works with MP’s and the British government to help Brits detained abroad.
“It was expected the prisoner transfer would come as part of the trade meetings held with Liz Truss and the Gulf nations. MP’s, Liz Truss and the Foreign Office were fully aware of these progressions but when it came to the time of the meeting, trade deals were wholly prioritised over British citizens.”
Albert Douglas has been rotting in prison for over 18 months for bounced cheques he didn’t even write. He was humiliated, beaten, tortured and his bones were broken. Albert is now calling on human rights supporters and MPs to reject Truss’ bid for office. “Liz Truss has been fully aware of my predicament and of the torture I was subjected to”, Albert tells Detained in Dubai from within the prison walls. “Despite serious brutality, she did nothing to get me home and has even ruined the prisoner relocation that the UAE authorities had set up. Truss has abandoned us, can’t even remember our names and is wholly unsuitable as a foreign secretary, let alone the leader of our country.
Former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt had previously negotiated the release of Matthew Hedges who had been held on allegations of espionage. Stirling commented, “Hunt made statements to the media in the case of Laleh Shahravesh who was arrested over a Facebook post, then advocated for Hedges and criticised the FCDO for their lack of intervention in Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s detention in Iran. We have seen no such vigour from Truss who does not appear to understand that the rights of British citizens and human rights generally do not need to be sacrificed to secure trade deals.”