PRESS RELEASE

In the last week, there have been numerous reports of a high number of British citizens detained in the UAE for filming and photographing drone strikes.

This news is concerning and reflects a growing trend seen by Prisoners Abroad amongst the number of people needing our support in the country and wider region in the last few years.

Last year, we saw the highest number of new arrests in the UAE to date, and this year’s numbers look to be sustained at a similar level. The UAE remains the country with the fourth highest number of people we are supporting in prison. 85% of those in the UAE have been arrested for a drugs offence and over half are under the age of 34. These trends are mirrored across the wider Middle East.

The welfare support and advice that Prisoners Abroad can provide to people in prison across the Middle East can vary when regimes are strict; we rely on the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to facilitate our overseas support – in particular, our grants – and when consular visits are restricted, unfortunately so is the help we can provide. In many places, including the UAE, people are also unable to receive post, which limits our provision of handbooks, reading materials, freepost envelopes, and letters.

Prisoners Abroad is not a legal advice charity, so cannot provide this kind of assistance to people in prison or their families or campaign to get people out of prison, although we may be able to signpost to other organisations who can help.

Our family support, however, is available even when we are not able to make contact with the person in prison. This includes:

• Family support groups – in-person and online for advice and emotional support
• Volunteer translation service – this enables the translation of short documents from Arabic to English or vice versa
• Freephone telephone helpline – run by our team of caseworkers

If you know of someone who has been arrested recently in the UAE, we urge you to make contact with our Prisoner and Family Support team:

• Freephone from UK 0808 172 0098 / Standard rate 0044 (0)20 7561 6820 (option 1) – UK times – 9.30am to 1pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 9.30am to 4.30pm Tuesday and Thursday
• [email protected]
• Contact us form

We would also encourage those living in or travelling to the UAE to make themselves aware of local laws and customs that may differ from those in the UK. Prison sentences can be very long and conditions may be tough.

You can find advice on travel to the UAE by the FCDO by clicking here. 

If you or a relative have been arrested or detained abroad, the FCDO provide guidance here, including lists of local English-speaking lawyers and translators, and Prisoner Packs for specific countries.

Travel to the UAE

Prisoners Abroad's comment on recent rise in arrests in the UAE

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For Press:

[email protected]

T: +44 (0) 20 7561 6820 (option 5)

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