A British grandfather arrested in Dubai claims he has been abandoned and left homeless there, without access to necessary cancer treatment due to a travel ban.
John Murphy, 59, who formerly served in the British military and later settled in the UAE, was arrested nearly ten years ago following a confrontation with a hotel security guard.
While in prison, his landlord sued him for non-payment of rent, seized his possessions, and had a travel ban imposed.
For nearly 10 years he has been stuck in Dubai, unable to work and lawyers say he is trapped in a ‘inescapable legal limbo’.
In recent weeks, the Brit has been forced to sleep on public transport and wash in shopping centre toilets.
He said he hasn’t eaten in days and has been on the streets for three weeks.
‘I try to ride the metro all day to rest, but security chase me away’, he said.
‘I wash in mall toilets, I’ve been in the same clothes for weeks, and my health is failing.
John Murphy, 59, has been left stranded and homeless in Dubai due to a travel ban
Mr Murphy also said that he needs urgent cancer treatment and dental care.
Although homelessness is illegal in the UAE, when Mr Murphy attempted to surrender to police, they refused to arrest him.
Commenting on Mr. Murphy’s situation, Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, stated: ‘This is appalling… John was acquitted, yet after a decade he finds himself destitute, without medical care for his cancer, and lacking basic necessities like food and 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.’
‘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.’
A friend of Mr Murphy’s 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 Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
There was also recent news regarding a British woman who received a life sentence in Dubai after being found with 50 grams of cocaine at a party last October.
Mia O’Brien, 24, originating from Huyton, Merseyside, maintained her innocence regarding drug charges but was nonetheless convicted by a judge in one day and fined £100,000 for the offense.
Mia endured a lengthy stay at the Al Barsha police detention center before being transferred to Dubai Central Prison, also called Al Awir, notoriously referred to as ‘the Middle East’s Alcatraz.’
The 24-year-old has joined a list of high-profile Britons to be imprisoned in the jail, including Karl Williams who was locked up in 2012 after police found narcotics in his rental car.
