DUBAI (Middle East Eye) – British women face a “shocking” lack of protection and rights in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which the UK government is failing to address, according to a new report released by a cross-party fact-finding panel.
The report is based on testimony from a number of British women who had faced abuse, arbitrary detention and even sexual assault in the UAE.
The investigating panel, composed of MPs Peter Bottomley and Debbie Abrahams and barrister Helena Kennedy QC, among others, found that the Emirati justice system was “open to abuse and capable of manipulation” and said the evidence presented “demonstrated a pattern of breaches of international standards in the UAE criminal justice system”.
They added that consular assistance provided by the UK, a close ally of the UAE, to women facing abuse and detention in the country had “fallen far short of expectations”.
According to the report, the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) recorded over 1,350 detentions of British women in the UAE from 2011 to 2016. It added that there had likely been hundreds more detained since 2016, but the FCO had not released any new figures since then.
Among those interviewed was the legal representative of a woman referred to as “Woman A”, who is currently still being held in detention in the UAE and has kept her identity secret because of threats against her family.
Speaking at a press conference to launch the report on Wednesday, Tiina Jauhiainen - a former UAE resident who attempted to help Dubai Princess Sheikha Latifa flee an alleged kidnapping by her father, Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - said that foreign women should reconsider plans to travel to the country in the future.
“Firstly I would ask them to get a copy of this report and read it, do some background research,” she said, speaking via Zoom. “I would actually advise them to think twice before going to the UAE and not be fooled by this image of a safe, tolerant society they try to portray.”
Princess Latifa was kidnapped in 2018 at sea, off the coast of India, after attempting to flee the UAE. She has since sent calls for help from her captivity in the UAE, while also calling for a renewed investigation into the disappearance of her sister, Shamsa, two decades ago.
The UAE has hit the headlines several times in recent years after detaining and abusing British citizens.