British Woman in Dubai Love Triangle Jailed

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A British woman caught up in a love triangle in Dubai when she was attacked in a boyfriend's flat by a Brazilian rival has been jailed for having sex outside marriage.

Danielle Spencer, 31, who worked in real estate in the Gulf emirate, was given a month's sentence after a court rejected her claim she never slept with Toby Carroll, a New Zealander.

Mr Carroll, 33, was jailed for two months – one month each for sex with Miss Spencer and with Priscilla Ferreira Gomez, 25, his ex-girlfriend.

All three were arrested when Miss Ferreira burst into Mr Carroll's flat inDubai Marina early one morning in December and found him in bed with Miss Spencer.

She grabbed a knife and began slashing the furniture and curtains, while Miss Spencer fled into the bathroom and locked herself in. Mr Carroll called the police, who arrested all three and took them to Bur Dubai police station, where they spent a month in cells before being bailed. » | Richard Spencer, Dubai | Thursday, June 23, 2011

British Tourist Faces Year in Dubai Jail after Calling Prophet Muhammad a 'Terrorist' in Row with Shopkeeper
MAIL ONLINE: A British tourist called the Islamic prophet Muhammad a terrorist in a heated row with an electronics salesman in a Dubai shopping mall, a court heard yesterday.

Andrew Graham, 40, faces spending a year in a Dubai jail if he is convicted of insulting Islam.

The holidaymaker was wandering through the Mall of the Emirates when he got into an argument with Hassan Habeeb, a 21-year-old salesman from Pakistan.

During the row, Graham allegedly said that ‘Muslims in Pakistan are not normal because they kill each other and kill people outside Pakistan’.

Mr Habeeb tried to tell the Briton that Muslims are ‘peaceful people and are all brothers who help each other’.

In a written statement produced before the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours yesterday, the Pakistani salesman said: ‘He laughed and said that I’m crazy and that prophet Muhammad was not a peaceful man but he is a terrorist.’

Mr Habeeb then became angry and tried to punch Graham, only for a customer to intervene, it was said.

The tourist was then taken to a police station and charged with swearing in public and insulting Islam.

Yesterday Graham appeared in court wearing shorts and was ordered to change into trousers by the judge on the grounds of decency.

Once in the appropriate attire, he pleaded not guilty to the charges. » | Arthur Martin | Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Woman Seeks Divorce from 'Gay' Husband in UAE
GULF NEWS: Says she noticed bizarre change in spouse's attitude and behaviour a few months after marriage

Dubai: A woman has filed for divorce after she claimed to have made a chance discovery of her husband's alleged relationship with another man.

The woman, believed to be from a Gulf country, filed her divorce claim before the Dubai Sharia Court, saying she accidentally noticed a love message that her husband received from his gay partner on his mobile phone.

The woman alleged in her claim that her husband started behaving oddly and abnormally a few months after they got married and she had seen him wearing her lingerie at nights and using her perfume, a court source told Gulf News.

The woman said she realised a bizarre change in her husband's attitude and behaviour and caught him trying on women's underwear and perfumes many times. She said she received the shock of her life when she heard her husband hiding in another room and chatting with another man on his mobile phone. » | Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter | Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Second Post Mortem into Dubai Death of British Tourist in Custody
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Police in Dubai have ordered a second post mortem into the death in custody of a British man whose relatives say he was beaten to death.

Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Bin Tamim, head of Dubai Police, said police doctors were examining the body of Lee Bradley Brown, 39, who was on holiday at the Burj al-Arab Hotel in the city when he was arrested for threatening a Nepalese housekeeper.

The Dubai authorities repeated denials that Mr Brown had been "tortured". A previous post mortem, conducted by the prosecutor's department, said he had choked on his own vomit, and that there were traces of cannabis in his system.

Lt Gen Khalfan said: "We do not doubt the first report but we just want to confirm it. Two doctors started examining the body on Saturday and we will reveal the results soon. » | Richard Spencer, Dubai | Sunday, April 17, 2011

Related »

Bid to Move British Inmates from Bur Dubai Station after Tourist Death Claim
THE OBSERVER: Four British prisoners 'traumatised' in Dubai police station where it is claimed Lee Bradley Brown was beaten to death

Foreign Office officials were attempting last night to move four British prisoners out of a notorious Dubai police station in the wake of claims that a British tourist was beaten to death there.

Discussions continue with the Dubai authorities about moving the prisoners to another jail. They are said to be traumatised after allegations that Lee Bradley Brown died after being beaten up by up to six police officers and dragged from his cell in the Bur Dubai station.

British embassy staff visited the police station yesterday to reinterview the British inmates. There are fears that they may be at risk of reprisals following reports that they blew the whistle on the alleged beating.

Negotiations are focusing on a possible transfer to the new Dubai Central Prison, in the middle of al-Aweer desert, which is the emirate's largest jail with room for 4,000 inmates.

Radha Stirling, of the Detained In Dubai charity, said talks were continuing about moving the Britons to a "safer place" while a Foreign Office spokesman confirmed they had "made a number of requests" to the Dubai authorities. Among them is the need for a "fair and proper" investigation into the death of Brown, 39, from Ilford, Essex. Dubai police maintain Brown's body had no signs of bruising or evidence of assault when he died last Monday. They claim he suffocated on his vomit in his cell. » | Mark Townsend | Sunday, April 17, 2011

Related here and here

Dubai Death Briton Lee Brown 'Choked on Vomit'
BBC: A British tourist died in police custody in Dubai after choking on his own vomit, officials have said.

Lee Brown, 39, of east London, was held at the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel after being accused of physically and verbally abusing a female staff member.

The UK has called for an inquiry amid reports he was assaulted by officers.

But the claim was denied by an unnamed police official quoted by local media and Dubai's attorney general said the force followed the "highest standards".

Dubai attorney general Issam Al Humaidan said a post-mortem examination concluded Mr Brown's death was caused by suffocation after vomit leaked into his respiratory tract.

In a statement he expressed condolences to Mr Brown's family and said that police in the Gulf emirate dealt with prisoners with respect and were "governed by the highest standards to preserve human rights". » | Thursday, April 14, 2011

Related »

Briton 'Beaten to Death' in a Dubai Police Cell after Being Arrested for Swearing
MAIL ONLINE: 'The guards tried to hush it up and pretend nothing had happened’

A British tourist was beaten to death by officers in a Dubai police station after being arrested for swearing, it was claimed yesterday.

Lee Bradley Brown, 39, was on holiday at a £1,000-a-night hotel in the Arab state when he was thrown into a filthy cell.

Police sources say he was ‘badly beaten up’ by a group of police officers, leaving him unconscious on the floor.

Inmates told how they watched officers bundle him into a body-bag and drag him out of the building.

During Mr Brown’s six days in Bur Dubai police station, guards refused to give him enough food and water and did not let him see a lawyer, it is alleged.

His sister learned about the attack when she received a phone call from an inmate on Sunday, claiming her brother had been beaten.

The prisoner found her phone number on a photocopy of her brother’s passport which had been left behind in the cell.

She contacted the British Embassy in Dubai, and on Monday an official was sent to visit Mr Brown at the police station.

But the official was turned away by an officer who claimed Mr Brown did not want to see him and had ‘declined consular assistance’. » | Arthur Martin, Nick McDermott and and Rebecca Evans | Thursday, April 14, 2011

British Woman Held in Dubai Over Love Triangle Case
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: A British woman who became unwittingly embroiled in a love triangle with a New Zealand banker has been held in a police cell in Dubai for over a month after the affair ended in early morning violence.

Danielle Spencer, 25, had been on a date with Toby Carroll, a real estate analyst for HSBC bank in the Gulf emirate and had returned with him to his flat.

The next morning Mr Carroll's Brazilian former girlfriend, who has been named only as Priscilla, arrived at the flat and found them in bed together, according to police.

Mr Carroll had only broken up with her the day before. >>> Richard Spencer, Dubai | Thursday, January 20, 2011

Dubai's Dirty Little Secret

Protect the Human Rights of Migrant Workers in the Middle East

Immigrant Worker Abuse in Middle East Condemned by Human Rights Group
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: International human rights group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has implored Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to make more effort to protect its immigrant workers, after shocking stories emerged about the abuse of three domestic workers.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, HRW said that it had received allegations from a maid in Kuwait whose employer drove nails into her body, a maid in Saudi Arabia who had nails forced into her body, and a maid in Jordan who had been both beaten and forced to swallow nails.

The watchdog said the stories implied a “broader pattern of abuse”, and that the goverments of the three countries needed to create a stronger legal framework to protect their foreign workers.

"The wanton brutality alleged in these cases is shocking, but reports of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and labour exploitation such as non-payment of wages are nothing new,'' said Nisha Varia, a senior women's rights researcher at HRW.

Many domestic workers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait come from Asia, Africa and other countries in the Middle East in the hope of receiving higher salaries. Because employers in Middle East countries often act as workers' "sponsors" however, they exert extreme power over their staff. Employers can prevent workers changing jobs or leaving the country, and often withold salaries for years. >>> Leah Hyslop | Thursday, November 18, 2010

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Doctors remove 19 nails from Sri Lankan maid: A Sri Lankan housemaid whose Saudi employer allegedly embedded 24 nails in her body was recovering in hospital on Friday after doctors removed 18 of them during a three-hour surgery. >>> | Friday, August 27, 2010

MIGRANT RIGHTS: Mission statement: Through the power of the web we wish to raise awareness about the plight of migrant workers in the Middle East and encourage social action to end the violations of their human rights and dignity. Unfortunately, very little is done to prevent the modern-day slavery many workers endure in the region. Our job is to change that. >>>

Indonesian Maid Tortured in Saudi Arabia, Another Beaten to Death
MIGRANT RIGHTS: This week, two cases of severe abuse of Indonesian maids by their Saudi sponsors have surfaced, one of them ending in death and the other in serious injuries.

The first case, of 23-year-old Sumiati BT Salan Mustapa was first reported by the Saudi Gazette. This initial report mentioned that Mustapa arrived in Saudi-Arabia in July to work for a family in Madina. On November 6th Mustapa was admitted to a private hospital in Madina injured from head to toe in an unconscious state. The private hospital was unable to treat her serious injuries and she was transferred to the King Fahd hospital. A worker there told the Gazette that Mustapa’s body “was burned on many places, both legs were almost motionless, some parts of her skin on her head were removed and strong marks of old wounds were on her body including skin loss on lips and head, a fractured middle finger and a cut near an eye.” Mustapa also showed signs of malnutrition or excessive blood loss. >>> | Friday, November 19, 2010

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum married a foreign woman for his second marriage. Photograph: The Telegraph
Dubai’s Grand Mufti Calls for Curb in Marriage to Foreigners
THE TELEGRAPH: The Grand Mufti of Dubai is calling for a curb in marriages between locals and foreigners as the price of marrying native brides has soared to more than £300,000.

The number of Emiratis marrying foreigners has risen by 10 per cent in the last four years, according to recent figures.

Officials and religious leaders blame the rising costs of dowries and extravagant wedding ceremonies and parties for encouraging “ordinary” local men to seek foreign wives, who cost less to marry.

Dr Ahmad al-Haddad, Dubai's Grand Mufti, the country's most senior Islamic scholar, wants to restrict foreign marriages to allow only Muslim, Arab spouses, and a maximum age difference of 25 years. For men, it would have to be his first and only wife.

“In Islam, choosing your life partner is a personal freedom,” the Grand Mufti said at a gathering in honour of the holy month of Ramadan. “But personal freedoms can be restricted for the benefit of the public interest.”

His proposals are unlikely to be welcomed, while he may have difficulty persuading Dubai’s ruler to approve his suggestion. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum took a Jordanian princess as his second wife, and would have fallen foul of the new rules. >>>Richard Spencer, Dubai | Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Briton Arrested for Wearing Bikini in Dubai Mall
THE INDEPENDENT: A British woman was arrested and charged with indecency after walking through a Dubai shopping mall wearing a bikini, it was reported today.

The Foreign Office confirmed the woman was arrested and charged, but the charges have since been dropped.

The holidaymaker is believed to have been arrested after a complaint that she was dressed indecently in the Dubai Mall.

The mall is the world's largest shopping centre, with more than 1,200 stores, and is part of the 20 billion US dollar (£12.5 billion) Burj Khalifa complex.

It is believed the woman walked through the mall wearing a revealing top, attracting the complaint from a local woman. She then apparently stripped down to a bikini, prompting her arrest, the Daily Mail reported. >>> Ellen Branagh, Press Association | Thursday, August 05, 2010

THE TELEGRAPH: British woman arrested for walking through Dubai shopping mall in a bikini: A British woman has been arrested and charged with indecency after walking through a Dubai shopping mall wearing a bikini, according to reports. >>> Laura Roberts | Thursday, August 05, 2010

Dubai Court Sentences British Man to 15 Years for Murder of South African Girlfriend
THE TELEGRAPH: A British executive has been jailed in Dubai for 15 years for killing his ex-girlfriend and dumping her body in the Gulf after a row.

Mark Arnold denied the allegations made against him in a long-running court case despite the prosecution's use of a confession made after he was arrested at Dubai airport following a trip to Britain.

He admitted arguing with Kerry Winter, a South African, but claims she was alive when he last saw her.

Judge Hamad Abdul Latif told him he would be jailed for 15 years after a brief hearing at Dubai's Court of First Instance on Monday.

The sentence is regarded as lenient as the death penalty remains in force for premeditated murder. The full judgement will be released later this month.

But afterwards Arnold told his lawyer: "There is no evidence - how can the court find me guilty?" >>> Richard Spencer in Dubai and Aislinn Laing in Johannesburg | Monday, June 07, 2010

Iran Using Dubai to Smuggle Nuclear Components
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Iran is using the Gulf port of Dubai to smuggle sophisticated electronic and computer equipment for its controversial uranium enrichment programme that are banned under United Nations sanctions.

In the latest deal, an Iranian company associated with the regime's nuclear programme has acquired control systems from one of Germany's leading electronics manufacturers. The deal was negotiated with a prominent Dubai trading company, which then sold Iran a range of electronic equipment for use at its Natanz uranium enrichment facility.

Details of the deal have emerged amid mounting concern in the West that Tehran has ended its self-imposed suspension of its nuclear weapons programme. A National Intelligence Estimate issued by US intelligence agencies in late 2007 concluded that Iran had suspended its attempts to build an atom bomb in 2003.

But a detailed assessment of Iran's recent declarations to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna has led Western officials to conclude that Iran has ended its self-imposed suspension, and has now resumed work on its military programme.

This would explain Iran's renewed attempts to smuggle banned equipment through Dubai. In the latest deal, details of which have been obtained exclusively by The Sunday Telegraph, high-grade German equipment including computers, controllers, communication cards and cables have been smuggled into Iran. >>> Con Coughlin | Sunday, June 06, 2010

Saving the Dhow Boats

The Cost of a Kiss
MAIL ON SUNDAY: A British woman jailed in Dubai for kissing a man on the cheek has spoken for the first time of her nightmare ordeal in prison.

Charlotte Adams, 26, was deported on Friday after spending 23 days locked up alongside prostitutes and murderers for ‘indecency’.

A local woman claimed she saw Charlotte openly kiss and touch Londoner Ayman Najafi in a restaurant.

The harsh sentence may have been intended to send a warning to the Britons who flock to the five-star beach resorts of an emirate which styles itself as a playground for the jet-set – yet has laws that penalise any deviation from Islam.

In 2008, a British couple found having sex on a Dubai beach were, on appeal, given only a three-month suspended sentence.

Charlotte’s ‘crime’ means she is now banned from Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

But as her plane took off for Britain on Friday, she said: ‘It is such a relief. I’ve thought of nothing else for the last few months.

‘I love this place and it makes me sad that I’ll never come back, although I think I’d struggle to ever feel free here again.

'But the laws need to evolve to match the culture here. At the moment, it’s all just hypocrisy.’ I was in prison with some prostitutes and a Russian woman who chopped up her boyfriend: Dubai 'kiss' girl reveals price she paid >>> Jo MacFarlane | Sunday, May 09, 2010

Dubai Briton Drops Appeal and Goes to Jail for a Month Over a Kiss
MAIL ONLINE: A British woman convicted of indecency for kissing a man in Dubai gave up the battle to prove her innocence yesterday and went to jail.

Estate agent Charlotte Adams believes she will get back to Britain quicker if she serves her one-month sentence.

The 26-year-old tourist, who has been stuck in the Arab state for five months, waived her right to a final appeal and was sent to Dubai Central Prison.

She was allegedly seen passionately kissing Ayman Najafi in a diner at the Jumeirah Beach Residence.

They were each given one-month prison sentences last month for breaching strict public decency laws.

The pair, both from North London, lost an appeal last month against their convictions.

At the time Miss Adams said: 'I want to go to jail straight away. I can't get on with my life at the moment. I'm stuck in this country with no money and I can't work.' >>> Daily Mail Reporter | Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Hit Parade

Leben am Persischen Golf: So luxuriös wohnt Familie Federer in Dubai
Roger und Mirka Federer mit den Zwillingen Myla und Charlene. Foto: Sonntag Online
SONNTAG ONLINE: Der beste Tennisspieler aller Zeiten ist ein Schweizer – doch leben will Roger Federer mit seiner Familie vor allem nur in Dubai: Der «Sonntag» zeigt exklusiv wie und wo.

Der Tennis-Superstar und das Emirat am Persischen Golf – zwei Giganten. Roger Federer (29) lebt mit seiner Frau Mirka (31) und den beiden süssen Zwillingen Myla Rose und Charlene Riva mehrere Monate im Jahr in der «City der Rekorde». Seit mehr als vier Jahren besitzt das Traumpaar in der steuerfreien Wüstenstadt eine Wohnung der Superlative – an bester Lage in Dubai Marina. 



Im direkt am Meer gelegenen Stadtteil wurden in den letzten sechs Jahren rund 200 Wolkenkratzer und Hochhäuser gebaut. Dubai Marina gilt mit seinem eigenen Stadthafen und den unzähligen Luxusgeschäften und Hotels als einer der modernsten und sichersten Stadtteile der Welt. 



Der «Sonntag» weiss: King Roger, der schon 16 Grand-Slam-Turniere im Einzel gewann und Multimillionär ist, kaufte sich und seiner Mirka 2006 im luxuriösen Hochhaus «Le Rêve» ein so genanntes «Presidential Apartment». Eine 5-Zimmer-Traumwohnung mit mehr als 200 Quadratmeter Wohnfläche. Eigenes Fitnesscenter, Tennisplatz und 24-Stunden-Concierge-Service inklusive. 



Gemäss der exklusiven Verkaufsbroschüre gibts im exquisiten 50-stöckigen Turm keine Wohnung unter umgerechnet zwei Millionen Schweizer Franken zu kaufen – auch jetzt während der Immobilienkrise nicht. «Es geht nicht um Geld oder Luxus, hier sind die Trainingsbedingungen optimal und wir fühlen uns sehr wohl», sagte Federer einst in einem Interview mit der «Schweizer Illustrierten». Wo er genau wohnt, verriet er bisher nie. «Ich gehe aber auch ganz gern in Dubai mit Mirka shoppen.» >>> Von Sacha Ercolani | Samstag, 03. April 2010

”Tribal Capitalism”
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: The death of Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, controller of the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, has thrown the spotlight on one of the world's most powerful families.

Mourners at the funeral of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan. The two in the centre of the pic are Crown Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince (L) and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, President of the UAE. On the far right is Sheikh Mansur, deputy prime minister and owner of Manchester City. Photograph: The Sunday Telegraph
He was a multi-billionaire, and scion of one of the world's most powerful families. But until his microlight aircraft crashed into a Moroccan lake last weekend few outside the narrow confines of the Gulf, and the even narrower confines of sovereign wealth finance, would have heard of Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

To some extent, that is understandable. In the world of Gulf princes, he was one among a secretive cast of thousands. As managing director of the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund, discretion was his watchword.

He himself was one of 19 brothers, led by the eldest, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, Ruler of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates. With his close-trimmed beard and standard-issue white robes and kaffiyeh, he could pass for any one of the powerful royals who run the emirates and neighbours such as Saudi Arabia.

Even so it was odd that his death at the age of 41 attracted only a few passing newspaper paragraphs in the West. The Nahyan family, Abu Dhabi's hereditary emirs, are significant players on the world stage, and their ability to avoid the limelight is itself beginning to attract attention.

"They are not interested, they don't want it," says one Abu Dhabi insider. "They don't give interviews, they just get on with it."

But in terms of publicity, Sheikh's Ahmed's death is likely to be just the start of it. What they are "getting on with" nowadays is running boardrooms, influencing geopolitics and - above all - growing the richest family business in the world. Slowly, they are becoming aware that as the spotlight turns on them, they will become fodder for front-page headlines and, no doubt, gossip columns too.

Sheikh Ahmed, 41, died after apparently fouling up a landing in a microlight he was learning to pilot. He had been holidaying at a Nahyan family palace by a lake in the Moroccan hills. His instructor survived and got ashore; Sheikh Ahmed's body was eventually found on Tuesday.

Immediately, the whispers started. No-one in authority suspects anything other than an accident, but his half-brother, Sheikh Nasser bin Zayed, also died in a crash when the helicopter he was piloting plunged into the Gulf two years ago.

It was an unfortunate coincidence: could the Nahyans be suffering the "curse of the Khaleej Kennedys", asked one gossip - Khaleej being the Arabic for Gulf.

Comparison with the Kennedys would cause the conservative Nahyans to shudder with horror. But if the United Arab Emirates is not yet the United States, the Nahyans are just as handsome as the Kennedys and much, much richer. Inside the world of the 'Kennedys of the Gulf' >>> Richard Spencer in Abu Dhabi | Easter Sunday, April 04, 2010