THE Government is being urged to step in and help repatriate a Reading man jailed in the United Arab Emirates for alleged drug offences.
A spokesman for international justice charity Reprieve said it was “unacceptable” that student Ahmad Zeidan’s appeal against his nine-year sentence was rejected by Emirates’ authorities on Thursday.
Mr Zeidan, who was studying aviation in Dubai, was arrested in December in the nearby Emirate of Sharjah while travelling in a car with two friends. He was jailed in May for possessing 0.04g of cocaine — with a British street value of just £3 — which was found in the glove compartment.
But the 21-year-old claims he only signed the confession to the offence — written in Arabic, a language he does not understand — after being repeatedly beaten, stripped naked, and threatened with sexual assault. Director of Reprieve’s death penalty team Maya Foa blasted the Emirates’ authorities for refusing to consider Mr Zeidan’s forced confession and torture as crucial evidence in support of his appeal.
She said: “This is an absolutely unacceptable result. Worse still, Ahmad appears to be being penalised for raising these grave violations of his rights. Now more than ever, the UK must do everything it can to ensure Ahmad’s release.”
Prime Minister David Cameron has told Reprieve that the Government takes the reports of his torture “extremely seriously”.
Following a request from UK officials, the UAE authorities pledged to investigate the allegations. However Mr Zeidan has been unable to access the results of that investigation, adding to concerns about the trial proceedings.
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