Egregious torture and extortion of Los Angeles crypto entrepreneur in "glitzy but risky" Dubai.
The family of an American detained in Dubai is calling on Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez to help. Edel Hsieh is the latest in a string of Americans to face unfair and arbitrary detention in the glitzy but risky destination.
Ed has been locked up for two months without bail after a fraudster falsely accused him of threatening him in order to pressure for the return of invested funds. “Edel has never threatened anyone”, his wife Neda attests. “His accuser just wants him locked up so he can steal his money”.
Not only has Edel been locked up and his money accounts emptied, but he was severely beaten and tortured by a group of Dubai police and CID, who forced him under duress to call his wife and transfer US$100,000 to one of the policeman’s crypto accounts. He is now being held in horrendous conditions and is being denied medical treatment and prescription medicine that he depends upon. The conditions he has experienced easily meet the criteria that warrants United Nations investigations.
Edel’s family have reached out to Rep. Sanchez and Senator Newman to intervene in a case of injustice and human rights violations but “Representatives are often initially reluctant to get involved”, explains Detained in Dubai CEO, Radha Stirling, who is helping the family. “Most representatives have never dealt with a constituent facing egregious abuse in a foreign country but when it comes to the Emirate of Dubai, this has become more and more common”.
Last year, representatives made diplomatic efforts to resolve the cases of Elizabeth De Las Santos and Tierra Allen (Sassy Trucker). Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was praised for her dedication in representing Tierra Allen who was freed. Jackson Lee described at a press conference her experience in dealing with the US State Department and US Embassy in the UAE. “It is clear that while the US will not get involved in legal proceedings abroad, there are significant efforts that can be made where a case is clearly unjust. We have seen this with Miami resident Danielle Jeffries and David Oliver, a case where the US negotiated with the claimant to drop the case against him so he could return to the US.”
Congresswoman Sanchez has been in contact with Edel’s mother and wife but they are yet to see any active support from the US Embassy and State Department. A consular representative did visit Edel in prison and saw the injuries and bruises from his assault, but nothing has been done to raise this with UAE officials. Stirling called for urgent diplomatic intervention in the severe matter, saying, “beatings and abuse of prisoners is an ongoing issue and unless countries stand up for their citizens, the treatment will continue. We’ve already seen broken bones, severe head injuries and even a death by police brutality. If the US does not stand up for Edel Hseih who was beaten as a means to extort him, we will certainly see many more cases of abuse, leaving visitors, especially crypto holders, as targets of the authorities”.
