The American student Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos (21) was this week sentenced to a year in prison in Dubai.
The reason? She allegedly “touched” the arm of a security guard at the airport.
The incident took place on July 14.
According to the legal group Detained in Dubaiwho assists the 21-year-old in the emirate, Los Santos had been on holiday in Turkey with a friend.
They refer to the 21-year-old as a hard-working student and employee.
“After losing her 44-year-old father and undergoing an operation, she needed some time off. She decided to go to Istanbul for a few days with a friend. Unfortunately, they chose to stop over in Dubai rather than Paris on the way home. According to the plan, they were not supposed to spend more than ten hours in the city,” writes the group of lawyers in one press release.
– Scared and exploited
But at the airport, everything went wrong for the young American. In conjunction with the surgery she had previously undergone, Los Santos wore waist compression.
In the security check at the airport, the 21-year-old was asked to remove the compression. She was taken into a back room, write the lawyers in Detained in Dubai.
NEEDED A HOLIDAY: According to Detained In Dubai, Elizabeth had recently lost her father when she went on holiday to Turkey. Photo: Detained in Dubai Show more
Furthermore, they claim that the female guards spoke Arabic among themselves, and mocked Los Santos. When she finally needed help to put the compression garment back on, the women allegedly refused to assist.
Facing the website, the 21-year-old describes an unpleasant and helpless situation.
– I felt uncomfortable, scared, embarrassed and taken advantage of, she tells the legal group, adding that the women gave her what she describes as “ugly looks”.
Cancer sufferer Natalia (44) did not get food
When no one in the room wanted to help Los Santos with the waist compression, the 21-year-old started calling for her friend. It must have been when Los Santos came across the female security guard’s arm.
– Exhausting process
After several hours in “custody” at the airport, the 21-year-old had to sign papers in Arabic to be allowed to leave the room, according to the lawyers.
When she was later ready to board the plane that was supposed to take her friends home to New York, Los Santos was told that she had been banned from leaving – and that she could not leave the emirate until the case had been dealt with in court.
STUDENT: Elizabeth is a student at Lehman College in New York. Photo: Detained in Dubai Show more
The report states that Los Santos had “assaulted and insulted” a security guard at Dubai airport.
The American thus had to stay in Dubai, and has spent the last eleven weeks staying in various hotels.
On August 24, the court decided that Los Santos should be fined AED 10,000, equivalent to NOK 29,600, writes Detained in Dubai in an updated press release.
– Dangerous place to visit
The prosecution appealed the ruling, and this week the 21-year-old was sentenced to a year in prison – after what is described as an “exhausting legal process”.
– Elizabeth intended to be in Dubai for six hours, but she has now been there for several months and has lost $50,000 in housing expenses and legal fees, says lawyer and human rights activist Radha Stirling.
ESCAPED: Princess Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed al-Maktoum tried to escape from Dubai, and her father’s regime. This video is what the world has heard from her. Video: Dagbladet and @FreeLatifa/Youtube Show more
She is the founder of Detained in Dubai and specializes in legal issues in the Middle East. Furthermore, she says that Los Santos has missed large parts of the study semester.
– Doesn’t Dubai want the airport to be a transport hub that people want to choose? She is not the only American citizen who has fallen into the country’s backward justice system.
Afraid of prison
In August, Tierra Young Allen (29) was able to return to the United States after spending several months in Dubai. The reason was that the 29-year-old shouted at an employee at a rental car company.
American Peter Clark was banned from leaving after blood tests showed traces of marijuana – which he claims he had smoked legally in Las Vegas before entering Dubai.
According to The New York Post The US State Department has been made aware of the Los Santos case.
– An extremely sad message
– American citizens must be aware that Dubai is a dangerous place to visit. Any country where an unproven allegation can result in lengthy prison terms is an unacceptable choice for tourists. Dubai must work hard to stop this type of legal abuse, says Stirling.
According to the legal group, Los Santos is now afraid of being housed in the notorious Al Awir prison, despite Detention in Dubai advocating for her immediate release.
2023-10-03 16:37:46
#Elizabeth #imprisoned #Dubai
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