John Murphy, 59, a former British soldier and Irish grandfather, was acquitted of false charges in Dubai but remains stranded under a travel ban. Now homeless, starving, and in urgent need of cancer treatment, he's been forced to sleep on public transport and wash in mall toilets.
Dubai / London / Dublin – 26 September 2025
Former British soldier and Irish grandfather John Murphy, 59, is stranded, destitute, and in urgent need of medical care in Dubai after being exonerated of false charges that first landed him in jail.
Murphy, who served in the British military before building a life in the UAE, was arrested a decade ago over allegations of being offensive to hotel security. He was later acquitted, but during his wrongful detention his landlord sued him for unpaid rent, seized his possessions, and secured a travel ban. That travel ban has never been lifted.
For ten years, Murphy has been unable to work, unable to leave, and trapped in an inescapable legal limbo. His situation has now deteriorated to the point of catastrophe.
“I haven’t eaten in four days,” Murphy said in a message sent from Dubai. “I’ve been on the streets for three weeks. I try to ride the metro all day to rest, but security chase me away. I wash in mall toilets, I’ve been in the same clothes for weeks, and my health is failing. I need urgent cancer treatment and dental care, but I have nowhere to turn.”
Although homelessness is illegal in the UAE, when Murphy attempted to surrender to police, they refused to arrest him. He is now literally surviving on public transport, caught between a rock and a hard place — unable to leave, unable to work, unable to resolve his debts.
"This is outrageous," said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai. "John was found innocent, yet ten years later he is starving on the streets, denied cancer treatment, food, or shelter. This is the direct result of a system that criminalises debt and traps people in a cycle of poverty and despair. They won’t let him leave, and they won’t even arrest him. He is being left to die in plain sight."
Murphy's friend has launched a GoFundMe page and appealed directly to both the British and Irish embassies for help. To date, neither has secured his release.
"The Trump administration successfully repatriated a number of American citizens from the UAE," Stirling added. "It is disappointing that Britain and Ireland have not stepped in to save John Murphy. He is a veteran, a grandfather, and he has already suffered enough. The Irish and British governments must act now."
