Family of Ryan Cornelius jailed in Dubai turns to EU for help

Irish family members of Ryan Cornelius, a British businessman jailed for fraud successful nan United Arab Emirates, whose imprisonment has been labelled unfair by nan United Nations, person sought to enlist nan thief of MEPs and EU officials successful an effort to person him released.

Heather Cornelius and Chris Pagett, respectively Ryan’s woman and brother-in-law, visited nan European Parliament successful Brussels to inquire MEPs to thief put unit connected nan UAE to merchandise him.

Since Heather has Irish roots and holds an Irish passport, they consciousness nan EU is their only avenue near to thief unafraid Cornelius' release.

Who is Ryan Cornelius?

Cornelius is simply a spot developer who was jailed complete a $501 cardinal (€441.2m) slope indebtedness from nan Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) that he and different British businessman were utilizing to money finance programmes successful nan Gulf.

DIB subsequently reset nan loan, claiming that it was not being utilized for nan intended purposes and that clone receipts were being provided to screen nan expenditure. A colony was reached nether which caller repayment position were set, and Cornelius’ spot was put up arsenic collateral.

He was nevertheless detained for 10 years successful 2008 arsenic portion of an alleged slope fraud case, pinch his detention extended by 20 years successful 2018 unless nan $430 cardinal indebtedness (€378.4m) was settled.

A United Nations moving group connected arbitrary detention ruled successful 2022 that Cornelius’ proceedings was unfair and his imprisonment “arbitrary”, contravening 8 abstracted articles of nan Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

His lawsuit has besides been taken up by nan Global Magnitsky Justice Campaign, nan group founded by Bill Browder, who accompanied his family members to Brussels, and said Cornelius is nan longest wrongfully imprisoned British national abroad.

Seventeen years successful prison

In an question and reply pinch Euronews, nan brother-in-law of Ryan Cornelius described his life down bars successful Dubai. A erstwhile authorities official, Chris Pagett said Ryan's wellness was deteriorating, but that he has remained mentally beardown owed to predominant telephone calls pinch Heather his woman and their 3 children.

"The astir important point is to talk to Heather. He talks to her erstwhile a day," Pagett said, adding that it is simply a “gross maltreatment of process” that nan British authorities has not done much to conflict for Cornelius’ release.

"Ryan is capable to usage a nationalist telephone container successful nan prison, truthful he spends astir of his time successful situation successful a queue for nan nationalist telephone boxes," Pagett explained.

"Ryan's lawsuit was fundamentally an irritant, an obstacle successful nan measurement of their desire for, you know, adjacent commercialized relations pinch nan UAE," he added.

Asked to remark by Euronews, nan British authorities said that Foreign Secretary David Lammy had brought his lawsuit up pinch nan UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan connected 7 December 2024.

Back successful January, Hamish Falconer, nan British under-secretary of state, said nan UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office was providing Cornelius pinch consular assistance and took "any reports of quality authorities violations, including coercion and mediocre situation conditions very seriously".

Bring Ryan Cornelius home

But Heather Cornelius has turned to Brussels successful efforts to spot her hubby released, and told Euronews really difficult regular life has been for her husband.

"He hardly ever gets outside, possibly doubly a period extracurricular into caller air,” she said.

"The remainder of nan clip you are successful a actual building pinch alloy chairs attached to nan floor, a alloy bed, lit up 24 hours," Heather Cornelius explained.

Irish MEPs Barry Andrews from Renew Europe and Seán Kelly from nan European People's Party met pinch Heather Cornelius and Pagett successful nan European Parliament. They dream to put Ryan Cornelius' lawsuit connected nan European Parliament schedule pinch a solution truthful they tin bring it to nan EU overseas argumentation main Kaja Kallas.

"The UN Human Rights Council person very intelligibly said that this is an injustice, and he should ne'er been locked up successful nan first place, ne'er mind person his detention extended," Barry Andrews told Euronews, adding that successful Dubai, rules authorities that anyone complete 70 should beryllium released successful immoderate case.

"There's thing extraordinarily punitive astir this ongoing detention and Ryan has important aesculapian needs that are not being met," Andrews said.

"We are going to do everything we tin to shed ray connected nan lawsuit and hopefully to person Ryan released arsenic soon arsenic possible," he concluded.