British MPs call for sanctions on UAE officials over detention of UK national
British MPs have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy urging him to sanction Emirati officials over the 16-year detention of a UK national on "dubious" charges.
Ryan Cornelius, 70, was convicted with three other expatriates in 2011 of defrauding Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and is still in detention.
In 2018 when their original sentence was due to end, a judge extended their prison sentences by 20 years in response to an application by DIB.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in 2022 ruled that Cornelius’ detention was arbitrary and violated international law.
A letter sent last week to Lammy, signed by parliamentarians including former Conservative party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy, urged the government to take "immediate and decisive action, including the imposition of Magnitsky sanctions on those responsible for his continued imprisonment".
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Magnitsky sanctions target individuals responsible for corruption or rights violation.
They would bar DIB's chair Mohammed al-Shaibani, who is also director general of the Dubai Ruler's Court, a UAE government body, from entering the UK.
DIB said it had acted "properly" and "in accordance with applicable laws at all times".
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to bolster Britain's diplomatic relations with Gulf states and seek fresh investment from their sovereign wealth funds.
But UK-UAE relations are understood to be under strain due to the UAE's role in Sudan, where it has supplied the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) with weapons and other goods throughout a war that began in April 2023 and has led to the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.
Starmer and Lammy have both visited the UAE since Labour entered government.
The Foreign Office told the Financial Times that Lammy discussed Cornelius' case with his UAE counterpart last December.
Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.
