The United Nations is calling for the release of a British father detained in a Dubai jail on fraud charges after he was sentenced to die behind bars.
Businessman Ryan Cornelius was arrested in the UAE in 2008 and jailed in 2010 after being charged with defrauding the Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and sentenced to 10 years at Al Awir Prison. His initial sentence should have ended eight years ago, but it was extended when he was due for release in 2018 to a further 20 years, meaning the 72-year-old won't see freedom until he's 84.
UN experts call for release
The order, dubbed a "death sentence" by critics, means Ryan likely spends the rest of his life behind bars without seeing his family for nearly 20 years, missing key milestones for his children and the birth of his first grandchild. The UN has now called on the Emirati government to release Ryan "without delay" after finding the additional 20-year sentence was imposed following proceedings "marred by serious judicial irregularities".
A group of seven UN experts, including Special Rapporteur on torture Alice Jill Edwards, called on the UAE to release Ryan given he had completed his original sentence in 2018. The group concluded: "We call on the Emirati Government to release Mr Cornelius without delay. He completed his original prison sentence in 2018. Yet he remains behind bars following a 20-year extension imposed in proceedings marred by serious judicial irregularities. His detention has already been found to be arbitrary by the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention."
Family misses milestones
Ryan's wife Heather says he has missed out on a series of milestones for their children, now 36, 34 and 24. She said she has not seen her husband's face since a video call four years ago, adding the couple welcomed their first grandchild on Monday. She told the Express: "It’s so devastating that Ryan will not meet this baby."
"I am so excited as a grandmother, but it is still a great sadness for me that this is happening, and he is not out of jail. The last time we were a family was 18 years ago, the kids were still teenagers and our youngest was only six, so they have done all that growing up talking to their dad on the phone. Christmases are always awful, we make the most of things, we’re not a miserable lot, but there’s always this dreadful missing part because he’s not there. It breaks my heart that Ryan cannot see how amazing his kids are, they are all very like their dad."
Ryan is however a "strong person", she added, who keeps "a zest for life" by talking to herself and their children. He has kept the outlook despite being subject to inhumane conditions, which have impacted his physical and mental health. UN experts noted that "urgent action" should be taken to avoid the older Brit from sustaining "irreparable harm" during his time in custody.
Concerns over solitary confinement
Among concerns expressed by the group were reports that Ryan was held in solitary confinement for seven weeks, adding that confinement exceeding 16 days consecutively "may amount to torture". Ryan’s brother-in-law Chris Pagett said questions should have been raised from the very start over the judicial process. He said: "The UN working group on arbitrary detention, that looked back on everything and the judgement, was quite clear that he never received a fair trial. All that was there to see and find for the UN was there for the British Government to find, but the UK was just not interested in doing anything. British policy seems to have been to look the other way. Heather received her first direct contact from the Foreign Office 14 years after Ryan was arrested."
The Mirror has contacted the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment.
