Irish woman seeks help for husband jailed on ‘trumped-up charges' in Dubai 17 years ago

Extra.ie​

13-05-2025

An Irish citizen has urged the Government to intervene in the case of her husband, who she says has been illegally imprisoned for 17 years in Dubai.
Heather Cornelius made the plea in a series of meetings with opposition politicians and Department of Foreign Affairs officials this week.
In 2003, Ryan Cornelius, together with his business partners, secured a 100-year lease to develop a 460-acre leisure residential complex in Dubai, backed by a credit line from the Dubai Islamic Bank. Heather Cornelius made the plea in a series of meetings with opposition politicians and Department of Foreign Affairs officials this week. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire/PA Images
In 2007, at the onset of the global financial crisis, Dubai Islamic Bank called in its credit line, and a restructuring agreement was reached with the bank over a three-year period.
However, soon after the second loan repayment, Mr Cornelius was arrested at Dubai International Airport. In 2010, he was sentenced to ten years in prison for theft.
Despite the charges of fraud and money laundering being dismissed for lack of evidence, authorities alleged theft from a public body. In 2018, shortly before his release, he was sentenced to an additional 20 years.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UNWGAD) has said his guilt was 'predetermined' and he did not receive a fair trial and that he was held in conditions equating to torture.
Speaking to Extra.ie on a visit to Dublin, Ms Cornelius spoke about how 'devastating' the imprisonment of her husband has been on what she called 'trumped-up charges'. Pic: Family Handout/PA Wire
She said: 'It has been absolutely devastating for all of us, for the whole family. It's obviously dreadful for Ryan. I mean, how he's survived, I really don't know.'
Mr Cornelius has not had dental treatment for four years, has contracted Covid twice and has TB. His youngest was six when he was first jailed and is 23 now.
His wife said: 'We can't get that time back.' She added that there was no sign of him 'coming out alive' at present. Ms Cornelius, whose mother is from Dublin, grew up partly in Co. Down and went to college in Coleraine.
She has tried for several years to get the British government to help her free Mr Cornelius from jail in the UAE.
Now, with the help of Bill Browder, who is known for his work on international human rights abuses, they have set their sights on Ireland and the EU in a bid to have her 71-year-old husband released. Pic: Brian Lawless/PA Wire/PA Images
In 2008, Mr Browder's lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered a massive fraud committed by Russian government officials that involved the theft of $230 million in state taxes.
After being arrested, Mr Magnitsky, a father of two, died in prison in 2009. His case led to international attention and the Magnitsky Act, a law that allows for sanctions against individuals involved in human rights abuses.
Mr Browder has successfully campaigned to implement the Magnitsky Act, with the US, the UK and others implementing a version of the legislation in response to his experience of working in Russia.
Both Mr Browder and Ms Cornelius praised the response they had received from Irish opposition figures and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ms Cornelius said she thought the British government 'would get involved' and 'talk to the right people' but that has not happened.
Mr Browder said: 'We would like the Foreign Minister [Simon Harris] to approach the Emirati and say, 'Look, guys, he's been in jail for 17 years. Just grant him clemency. Let him come home to his family'. And make the approach directly and personally.'
The meeting with the Department of Foreign Affairs was 'positive', Mr Browder said. 'They have to study the case and make sure it all stacks up the way we say it does. But I was surprised,' he said.
'Normally, when you go into a foreign ministry, their immediate answer to everything is no, but we didn't get that response here. We got a warm response.
'I'm sure we will have to lean on them when the time comes, but the people we met were human beings. Sometimes a little country can make a big difference.'
Ms Cornelius and Mr Browder met with the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell while they were in Dublin.
Mr Browder said of the meetings: 'There is a strong moral fibre in Ireland. People are sensitised to injustice and much less cynical than in other countries.'
He said larger countries like the US or the UK were often 'paralysed' and often needed the prime minister or the president to intervene personally on a matter to have a decision made.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said: 'The department is aware of developments in the case of Mr Cornelius but does not comment on individuals. As Mr Cornelius is a UK national, the FCDO [UK foreign office] is the relevant consular authority.'