موقع إخباري يهتم بفضائح و انتهاكات دولة الامارات

UK football fan detained in UAE speaks out

94

The British Ali Issa Ahmed revealed the suffering he had experienced in the UAE after the security held him in prison for wearing the Qatari shirt in the 16th Asian Cup 2019, which ended on the first of February.

The Guardian, quoted British citizen upon returning to his homeland, revealed that he was tortured, beaten and deprived of sleep and food by the Emirati jailers.

Hours after his return to the UK on Thursday, Ahmed told the Guardian about his tragic story in the UAE, saying that was shocked and terrified and feared death in the UAE prisons.

Ahmed, who works as a security guard in Wolverhampton, said he was stabbed in the prison in different parts of his body and deprived of sleep, food, and water for several days while being held in a security building. “I thought 100% that I was going to die in the UAE,” he said. “I thought I would commit suicide rather than letting them kill me.”

Ahmad had traveled to the UAE for a holiday in January. While he was there, he got a ticket for an Asian Cup match between Qatar and Iraq on 22 January. The fan wore a Qatar shirt to the match, not knowing that doing so is an offense in the UAE punishable with a large fine and an extended jail sentence, the newspaper said.

Quoting the fan, he had a series of knife wounds to his arm, injuries to his chest and a stab wound to his side, and appeared dazed, exhausted and in a state of shock. He also said that a security official had knocked out a tooth when he punched him in the face, The Guardian said.

The British fan said that all began when officials seized him after Qatar’s match against Iraq and asked him why he wore a Qatar shirt. They then ordered him to hand over the shirt and then returned from the match in Abu Dhabi to his hotel in Dubai, but the men followed him and stayed at his hotel until the next day morning.

Ahmed said he decided to go to the beach that day. He went back to the hotel and the men followed him. When he got out of the car, they forced him to stand up When he got out, they forced him into the back of his car, handcuffed him, cut the shirt from him inflicting several knife wounds to his arm and chest, punched him in the face and put a plastic bag over his face. “I felt a flash when the bag was over my head and realized they were filming me,” he said. “I thought they were going to kill me.”

After the incident, the fan confirmed that he was left in the car where he was bleeding. He was shocked before he called an ambulance. He was taken to hospital for injuries and was held in a security building. He was denied sleep, food, and water for several days before being transferred to a police cell in Sharjah, where he was held until 12 February. He said he was stabbed and believed the perpetrator was another prisoner.

The newspaper pointed out that although Ahmed is fluent in Arabic in writing and conversation; but was not allowed to read documents that he was forced to sign later, noting that he received help from officials at the British Embassy during his detention. He said, “Before I got on the plane back to the UK a UAE official at the airport said to me: ‘We are a very good country.’ I don’t know how I can get justice for what happened to me but if I can I will do it.”