American Arrested In Dubai

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American Arrested in Dubai May 12, 2011
And here have another one. But I think this guy is a bit of an idiot. Found the handcuffs?? Probably did, but found them on a police desk!!!??? Seven years is a bit much when you consider some people get the same for accidentally killing someone.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast ... ed/?hpt=T2

(CNN) -- An American detained for more than two months in the United Arab Emirates faces up to seven years in prison for stealing police handcuffs, an allegation he says he only confessed to after being tortured.

A judge in Dubai is expected to hand down a verdict next week against Adam Foster, 30, of Burdett, New York, whose case has become the focal point of a grassroots letter-writing campaign via Facebook that calls for his release.

"It's hard to be hopeful at this point," Foster told CNN by telephone Thursday from Dubai, where he has been detained since his February 26 arrest. "I don't want to think I'm going to be getting out of here in a few days and then find I have to stay for seven years."

The UAE has charged Foster with theft of government property, possession of police paraphernalia and theft at night. If found guilty, he faces up to seven years in prison.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that Foster was detained. American consular officers met him on February 28 before UAE authorities released him on bail March 1.

Officials in the UAE did not respond to a CNN request for comment.

But investigators claim Foster stole a pair of official police handcuffs during questioning in an unrelated matter at a Dubai police station the night before was due to leave the city, according to his attorney, Yousuf Khalifa Hammad.

Foster has said it was a coincidence, saying he was brought in for questioning because he was in possession of a bottle of Korean rice wine -- a parting gift from colleagues. He was released without charges.

Foster said he found the handcuffs a day earlier on the ground at a mall parking lot, about a mile and half from the police station where he was questioned.

"I was thinking 'souvenir,'" Foster said. "They were lying on the ground. So I picked them up."

Foster, who was on his way home after a six-week stint as a contractor for Dubai Energy Water Authority, was arrested after authorities found the handcuffs in his luggage during a routine security screening at the Dubai airport.

He said he was pulled off the plane, questioned and taken to a police station, where he was interrogated twice by two officers.

It was during that second round of questioning, after hours of maintaining his innocence, he said he was beaten and forced to confess.

Foster claims he was told to take off his shoes and socks, and handcuffed to a chair while one of two officers used a coil to whip the bottom of his feet. He also said he was punched in the face.

"The pain was unimaginable," Foster said. "So I told them I did it. I told them 'I'm sorry.'"

Foster said he then signed a confession written in Arabic.

"I have no idea what it said," he said.

Hammad said there is little recourse for Foster as there were no witnesses to the alleged torture, though court documents show he initially said he was innocent, confessed and then recanted.

"It is up to the judge to consider this," Hammad said.

Foster said he recanted his confession after he was released from jail. He said he did not tell U.S. consular officials who met with him while he was in jail nor did he file a complaint against the officer in the case because he was afraid he would be beaten again if he professed his innocence.

Robert H. Arbuckle, a public affairs officer at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, declined to comment because Foster had not authorized consular officials to act on his behalf with the media.

The U.S. Embassy strongly advises travelers to the UAE and those transiting through the country to avoid carrying any type of law enforcement or security item, including weapons, body armor and handcuffs, according to its web site. It warns that people caught carrying such items will face criminal charges.

"I don't understand how they can do this?" Foster said. "How can they put me away for seven years with no proof whatsoever?"

Foster has been living at a Dubai hotel since authorities released him on March 1. In lieu of bail, UAE officials confiscated his passport to ensure he would appear in court, Hammad said.

Nearly 1,000 people have appealed to Yousef Al Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to the United States, and Jeffrey D. Feltman of the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs to intervene on Foster's behalf.

"I urge you to do everything in your power to ensure Adam is treated fairly on May 19 with consideration of his illegal torture and coerced confession," according to a sample letter posted on Facebook. "Americans all over the world are counting on you and the State Department to speak boldly in opposition to human rights violations."

Hundreds of others have posted messages of support.

"Imagine yourself in his place for about five minutes. Then do something to help him," urges Facebook user Bruce Varner.

Foster said he was hanging on to hope that the letters from friends and family might make a difference in his case.

Last year, UAE authorities detained Nicholas Moody of Nevada for more than three months on charges of possessing weapons accessories -- parts that could accompany a gun, though no firearm itself.

Moody was arrested during an 18-hour layover in Abu Dhabi while heading back from Iraq. A judge later dismissed the charges.

Bora Bora
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 12, 2011
Not good at all - another example of police brutality!
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 12, 2011
Great new police idea there.

Arrest someone, slap him in handcuffs...and then accuse him of trying to steal the handcuffs! Doesn't matter what you might have done: guilty as charged yer honour!

Dubai police arrest and charge record would then be 100%.

Good for a little PR spin.

:shock: :shock: :shock:

Knight
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Re: American Arrested In Dubai May 12, 2011
3 men were sentenced to 6 years in jail for raping and killing a Chinese woman and stealing her money; so 7 years for this doesnt make sense at all
BlackburnRovers
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Re: American Arrested In Dubai May 13, 2011
Unbelievable! :evil:
kanelli
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 18, 2011
Stealing government properties is a crime
I think 1 year in Jail will be good :evil:
uaebadoo
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 18, 2011
uaebadoo wrote:Stealing government properties is a crime
I think 1 year in Jail will be good :evil:


But the officers who beat him up should also face punishment - that is not on at all!
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 18, 2011
That'll teach him! I hate thieves.

But the officers who beat him up should also face punishment - that is not on at all!


Show us the proof! i don't believe a word of it. Is it on CCTV?
Bethsmum
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Yeah yeah BM, we all know you're the resident 'local lover'. You don't live here, so don't know how you can comment really!
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Chocoholic wrote:Yeah yeah BM, we all know you're the resident 'local lover'. You don't live here, so don't know how you can comment really!


Well I can comment and I will! I like the locals. Never had a problem with any of them. But there again, I behave myself as a guest in someone else's country and I show a little respect!
Bethsmum
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
you lady always side with anything against this country
The police have a giant evidence against him , what does he have :mrgreen:
uaebadoo
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Re: American Arrested In Dubai May 19, 2011
@uaebadoo

What giant evidence??? A pair of handcuffs that were not missed. Only found in his luggage as he was leaving the country. That means that he could or could not be telling the truth. Why would we believe the police over him. The torture, well kinda shot yourselves in the foot on that count. Too many stories of people being mistreated by the Dubai Police, so on the balance of probability and from some first hand stories I'd have to side with the American.
patience
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
uaebadoo wrote:you lady always side with anything against this country
The police have a giant evidence against him , what does he have :mrgreen:



It's nearly at "that" point isn't it ?

Give western expats 12 months to leave;
Do not issue anymore visa's to westerners (white, (blue) pink, tan, brown or black);
Do not request permission for landing rights in the west, as none will be granted;
Refund all the money borrowed from western banks, within the next 12 months (no exceptions);
Refund all real estate purchased by "westerners" at par;
We will take back all investments made in the west and repay all investments at par in the same time period
....
Oh yeah, and you don't visas to the west either.

I give it 5 years before we see y'all on news at 10, rowing boats to africa and india hoping for refugee status !


The world would be a better place.
viking-warrior
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
:D :D :D
Good one VK, but I would not even give them 3 years before they go back to what they know best: eating dates and keeping goats.
herve
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
herve wrote::D :D :D
Good one VK, but I would not even give them 3 years before they go back to what they know best: eating dates and keeping goats.


Define 'keeping'...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Knight
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Well you know the simplest thing to do would be to review CCTV footage from the police station at the 'alleged' time the crime took place! Oh wait, they won't request it - I wonder why? :roll:

You know it's becoming a bit of a boring theme where people try to get expats into trouble. Sure, there are many who do genuinely get themselves into trouble and should be rightly punished, however, there seems to be a string of 'his word against anothers' stories cropping up at the moment.
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
[quote="Dubai Knight] Define 'keeping'...

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Knight[/quote]


I was once driving through Wales, when i came across a guy at the side of the road, grappling with a sheep.

I wound the window down, and said to him "Excuse me - are you shearing that sheep?".

Looking rather angry, he shouted back : "NO! Get yer own........."

:lol:
BlueOrb
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
viking-warrior wrote:
uaebadoo wrote:you lady always side with anything against this country
The police have a giant evidence against him , what does he have :mrgreen:



It's nearly at "that" point isn't it ?

Give western expats 12 months to leave;
Do not issue anymore visa's to westerners (white, (blue) pink, tan, brown or black);
Do not request permission for landing rights in the west, as none will be granted;
Refund all the money borrowed from western banks, within the next 12 months (no exceptions);
Refund all real estate purchased by "westerners" at par;
We will take back all investments made in the west and repay all investments at par in the same time period
....
Oh yeah, and you don't visas to the west either.

I give it 5 years before we see y'all on news at 10, rowing boats to africa and india hoping for refugee status !


The world would be a better place.


I only reply to mature comments
uaebadoo
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
uaebadoo wrote:
viking-warrior wrote:
uaebadoo wrote:you lady always side with anything against this country
The police have a giant evidence against him , what does he have :mrgreen:



It's nearly at "that" point isn't it ?

Give western expats 12 months to leave;
Do not issue anymore visa's to westerners (white, (blue) pink, tan, brown or black);
Do not request permission for landing rights in the west, as none will be granted;
Refund all the money borrowed from western banks, within the next 12 months (no exceptions);
Refund all real estate purchased by "westerners" at par;
We will take back all investments made in the west and repay all investments at par in the same time period
....
Oh yeah, and you don't visas to the west either.

I give it 5 years before we see y'all on news at 10, rowing boats to africa and india hoping for refugee status !


The world would be a better place.


I only reply to mature comments


Well sadly it's a fact matey! Dubai has borrowed billions from elsewhere and they keep 'defaulting' on their payments and getting away with it. Yet poor Joe Bloggs on the street gets slung in jail for one missed payment. Maybe you should start looking at the way you treat people, or you could well and truly have the rug pulled out from underneath you!
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
herve wrote::D :D :D
Good one VK, but I would not even give them 3 years before they go back to what they know best: eating dates and keeping goats.


We are proud of our hisorty, we are bedwen who lived on dates and water only, also we are
so proud of camels , also dont forget (just to reply to you childish comment) AbuDhabi Investment Authority has more than a trllion dollar of investments around the world, so even without oil we still have a lot of money ( I know this will make you more jellous)

-- Thu May 19, 2011 3:21 pm --

Chocoholic wrote:
uaebadoo wrote:Stealing government properties is a crime
I think 1 year in Jail will be good :evil:


But the officers who beat him up should also face punishment - that is not on at all!

He was seen by the American consular, so any torture will be seen
uaebadoo
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Well sadly it's a fact matey! Dubai has borrowed billions from elsewhere and they keep 'defaulting' on their payments and getting away with it. Yet poor Joe Bloggs on the street gets slung in jail for one missed payment. Maybe you should start looking at the way you treat people, or you could well and truly have the rug pulled out from underneath you!


You need to ask your self Chocs, where will you go and what would happen to your property if this happened? If I was off this mind set I would be getting out now.

Remind me why you are staying, again?
Bethsmum
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
You know what uaeboohooobooo I can't even be bothered to read your protests. To the foe list you go.
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Chocoholic wrote:You know what uaeboohooobooo I can't even be bothered to read your protests. To the foe list you go.


That seems to be your answer to everything. You can't answer replys to your witterings so you put people on you foe list. Very adult behaviour.
Bethsmum
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Well they've given him a month in jail on the lesser charge of finding and failing to report lost government property.

http://www.7days.ae/storydetails.php?id ... f%20jailed

Fair enough he should have handed them in, in the first place.
Chocoholic
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
Bethsmum wrote:
Chocoholic wrote:You know what uaeboohooobooo I can't even be bothered to read your protests. To the foe list you go.


That seems to be your answer to everything. You can't answer replys to your witterings so you put people on you foe list. Very adult behaviour.


Exactly
uaebadoo
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
uaebadoo wrote:
uaebadoo wrote:you lady always side with anything against this country
The police have a giant evidence against him , what does he have :mrgreen:



I only reply to mature comments


giant evidence - very mature :lol:

As to Abu Dhabi having over a trillion invested - seriously, take it back, at no cost and no profit or loss. Delever ALL the investments made using western money and go play in the east. It makes absolutely NO (zero) difference to us.

You see, you need the maturity and security of the western markets to diversify your investments and guarantee an income stream. The gazillions you speak of are primarily held in US Treasuries, in the US, at the mercy of the US treasury and the Fed in a rolling self perpetuating fund against oil generation & revenue. In order to realise any capital "you" need to borrow against the securities held in order to invest to generate cash income.

Quid pro quo - have your paper back and we won't have to lend to you any more.

Would certainly reduce the risk profile of our banks.
viking-warrior
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Re: American Arrested In Dubai May 19, 2011
UAE is not such a nice place because of the police and legal system. It is not only guilty people who get into trouble. I have first hand experience when my wife was arrested because someone claimed she owed them money.

Expats should only be here if they are being adequately compensated for the inherent risks.
blueshift
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Re: American Arrested In Dubai May 19, 2011
blueshift wrote:UAE is not such a nice place because of the police and legal system. It is not only guilty people who get into trouble. I have first hand experience when my wife was arrested because someone claimed she owed them money.

Expats should only be here if they are being adequately compensated for the inherent risks.


Good, she's a foreigner so she deserved it, don't you know, you are just a guest here ! A local should be able to walk up to any foreigner and demand as much money as possible and they should comply if not, throw'em in the slammer. I wish it was like this in England where all the whites could do the same to all the brown people. I'm so jealous and envious /end of BM impression.
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Re: American Arrested in Dubai May 19, 2011
desertdudeshj wrote:
blueshift wrote:UAE is not such a nice place because of the police and legal system. It is not only guilty people who get into trouble. I have first hand experience when my wife was arrested because someone claimed she owed them money.

Expats should only be here if they are being adequately compensated for the inherent risks.


Good, she's a foreigner so she deserved it, don't you know, you are just a guest here ! A local should be able to walk up to any foreigner and demand as much money as possible and they should comply if not, throw'em in the slammer. I wish it was like this in England where all the whites could do the same to all the brown people. I'm so jealous and envious /end of BM impression.


Oh very interesting! So locals walk around and demand money from foreigners! Hmm, based on this statement, those more than 1,500,000 foreigners living there should be really crazy choosing Dubai to live. Or maybe someone put a gun on their heads and forces them to live there. Who knows?!
melika969
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Re: American Arrested In Dubai May 19, 2011
desertdudeshj wrote:
blueshift wrote:UAE is not such a nice place because of the police and legal system. It is not only guilty people who get into trouble. I have first hand experience when my wife was arrested because someone claimed she owed them money.

Expats should only be here if they are being adequately compensated for the inherent risks.


Good, she's a foreigner so she deserved it, don't you know, you are just a guest here ! A local should be able to walk up to any foreigner and demand as much money as possible and they should comply if not, throw'em in the slammer. I wish it was like this in England where all the whites could do the same to all the brown people. I'm so jealous and envious /end of BM impression.


Don't give up your day job munchkin. That was a shite impression!

BTW you forgot to include the Polish and the Romanians, I'm not keen on them either! :lol: :lol:
Bethsmum
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