Briton detained in UAE for wearing Qatari football tee-shirt details abuse he endured
It was only a few days ago that the world first came to know about Ali Issa Ahmad, a British national, who was detained in the UAE for allegedly wearing a Qatari football tee-shirt to a game in the AFC Asian Cup.
The story of the 26-year-old soon went viral, and there was heavy criticism for the UAE from all sides, following which he was released.
Now, for the first time, Ali has spoken out about how he was convinced he was going to die in the UAE.
The dual Sudanese-British citizen said he was stabbed in prison and deprived of sleep, food and water for several days while being held in a security building.
“I thought 100% that I was going to die in the UAE. I thought I would commit suicide rather than letting them kill me,” he was quoted as saying by UK newspaper The Guardian.
Ali, from Wolverhampton in central England and an Arsenal fan, was in the UAE on holiday when he wore Qatar’s jersey at the team's group match against Iraq on January 22. He did not know that showing sympathy for Qatar is punishable in the UAE.
Ahmad said he was approached by officials at the match in Abu Dhabi and asked to hand over the shirt, which he did. But he said he was later followed back to his hotel in Dubai, reported Al Jazeera.
The Briton claimed he was punched in the face, knifed, handcuffed and left bleeding by security officials after he wore a different Qatar shirt at a beach the next day.
“I thought they were going to kill me,” he said before he was eventually let go.
Ahmad called an ambulance and had his injuries treated at a hospital, but was later detained for allegedly lying to the police about the assault.
According to a statement by the UAE embassy in London, Ahmad was charged on January 24 as ‘his injuries were inconsistent with his account of the event and appeared to be self-inflicted.’
A statement by UAE Embassy on Ahmed Ali Issa case pic.twitter.com/BUTzUjBEJx
Ali's is the latest case in a number of alleged abuses by Emirati security personnel, who have been accused of torture and depriving prisoners of sleep while in detention, reported The Peninsula.
Ahmad's detention comes more than two months after British academic Matthew Hedges was released by the UAE by a presidential pardon after spending more than six months in prison in an espionage case.
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An interesting case .............
what a crooked minded people they are, its the maximum level of hatred towards a prosperous nation, Qataris and its supporters stay aware when travelling these countries.. :( :(