Ohio brothers to spend Christmas in Dubai jail with more sentences added.
An Ohio veteran and his brother are appealing sentences that would see them behind Dubai jail bars beyond Christmas. Joseph and Joshua Lopez have been sentenced to four months in total after being drugged and robbed on a night out.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai says “Joseph & Joshua are appealing a sentence that would see them locked up until early next year, fined and deported after being targeted by scammers while on vacation in Dubai. While local criminals target tourists with what appears to be the support of law enforcement, Dubai is far from the ‘safe tourist destination’ it’s marketed as.
“If the boys’ appeal is unsuccessful, veteran Joseph and young father Joshua face months in Dubai jails notorious for human rights abuses. We only need to look at Lee Bradley Brown’s death in custody or Albert Douglas’ torture and abuse to understand the severity of what the Lopez brothers face. The worst part is that they were targeted and victimised, drugged and robbed and then re-victimised with a prison sentence. It’s eerily similar to charging a rape victim with sex outside marriage or a domestic violence victim with drinking alcohol and attempted suicide as in the recent case of flight attendant, Tori Towey.
“Visitors are flocking into Dubai and facing the most ridiculous charges for alleged crimes they haven’t even committed. Last year, we saw Tierra Allen targeted by a rental car company, Elizabeth de las Santos targeted by an immigration officer and Peter Clark, detained for residual hashish found in his blood that he’d legally smoked in Las Vegas weeks before flying.
“The USA needs to increase travel warnings to citizens to include the very real risk of being targeted by locals who seek to rob, extort or take advantage of them. Not only will they be robbed and extorted, but they’ll usually end up in prison too.
“We are in touch with JD Vance’s team who are liaising with diplomats in the UAE. Joseph and Joshua were drugged by locals but instead of being treated as victims and the perpetrators investigated, they have been treated like the criminals. We hope that when US officials raise this case to their Dubai counterparts, that the custodial sentences will be overturned and the boys returned home.”
