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Sent:
Friday, August 15,
2008 4:36 AM
Subject: Legal Cells, Human
Rights
Name: "Abdi
Ghaffari"
Email:
Response ID150820080436
Sir,
My name is Abdi, a
PhD student in Canada. I was asked
by my sister to try and have her
voice heard. I came about your
website by searching in Google. My
sister is in a jail at Dubai
International Airport since June 25,
2008 and has asked me to try and
publish her story online. I would
greatly appreciate your assistance
in this matter, as I don't know what
website or newspaper to target on
this issue. I have summarized her
story below. Most of it is in her
own words from the telephone
conversation we had during the last
2 weeks.
My sister (I'll leave her name out
at this time) is an Iranian Canadian
Architect, who was working at Dubai
during last year. Prior to June 25,
2008 and after deciding to come back
to Canada, she renewed her passport,
but her UAE Visa was expired for 10
days. Canadian Embassy advised that
she would have 30 days grace period
on her visa to leave the country.
She was planning to leave UAE to
Kish, Iran and then to Vancouver,
Canada. She consulted airport
immigration & customs about the
grace period. They were unclear and
she asked for a higher authority.
The officer in question (Mohammad
Darvish) refused to listen to her
because she was a woman. He asked
her to leave the airport and bring a
man with her. Since she was staying
alone at UAE and didn’t have anyone,
and as a long time activist she was
extremely insulted by the comments,
she refused to leave and in protest
decided to stay at the airport till
her inquiry would be addressed.
Offensive and provocative behavior
of the custom officers pushed her
over the limit and she got into a
verbal argument with them. To keep
her quite, the airport police
decided to handcuff her and take her
to a quiet room in detention centre.
She was kept in detention without
any information or access to phone
calls for 3 days before appearing
before a prosecutor at court. She
was being charged with Insult to a
Police Officer & Insult to Islam,
which she refuted both.
A lawyer was not provided to her at
the court and prosecutor was
basically deciding the charges
without allowing her to speak on her
own behalf. When she asked for a
lawyer, she was given the option of
going back into prison till she
finds someone. Since she does not
know anyone in Dubai and just wanted
to get out of this unbelievable
situation, so decided to carry on
with the court ruling.
She is still being kept at the
airport deportation detention centre
and week after week is being
promised a court decision that by
now seems elusive.
I have contacted the Canadian
Embassy, but they do not put any
serious pressure on UAE government
for her return. They're going to
provide me with a list of lawyers in
the area and try to update me on her
situation.
Do you have any experience in cases
like this? Any suggestion and
advice on this matter will be
greatly appreciated. What is an
appropriate channel to have her
voice heard (through internet or
other media)?
Thank you,
Abdi
CPFF Burn/Wound Healing Research
Group
Jack Bell Research Centre
Rm 344A, 2660 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3Z6
Tel: (604) 875-4111 Ext.62271
Fax: (604) 875-4212
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