Latest news with #HeatherCornelius
The Guardian
16-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Families of UK prisoners abroad urge ministers to keep promises to help
Families and lawyers of prominent British prisoners detained abroad have called for the government to deliver on promises to help secure their release and appoint a special envoy. Last week, David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said he hoped to appoint a special envoy for British nationals arbitrarily detained overseas by the end of the year, after vowing to do so in November 2024 and as part of a Labour manifesto pledge. But families have criticised a lack of government action to secure the release of British nationals while they wait for an envoy to be appointed and raised concerns that some cases could be left out of their purview. Heather Cornelius, the wife of Ryan Cornelius, a property developer arrested in Dubai 17 years ago, said: 'I have always tried to keep faith in the British government, but they have given us no reason to.' As an Irish passport holder, Cornelius took her husband's case to Dublin where they received support they had not seen from the UK government, despite 40 cross-party MPs calling for sanctions on those holding him and the UN calling for his immediate release. Last week, the European Parliament voted overwhelmingly in favour of calling on the UAE to release him and on the UK to take necessary action. 'It's incredible what they've achieved in two months,' said Cornelius. 'I'm just blown away and Ryan cannot believe what has happened, it's just given him so much hope.' Every year, the foreign office deals with 28,000 cases where an individual requires consular assistance, however it does not disclose the number of arbitrarily detained Britons – such as Alaa Abd el-Fattah, Jimmy Lai, Mehran Raoof, Jagtar Singh Johal. On Wednesday, the UK prime minister Keir Starmer said they are working 'at pace' to set up the special envoy role – which would be loosely modelled on the US role of presidential envoy for hostage affairs – in response to a question from Tim Roca, the vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for arbitrary detention and hostage affairs. 'We do routinely raise these cases with international counterparts,' Starmer said. 'We're deeply committed to getting them home and united with their loved ones.' Alicia Kearns MP, who set up the all-party parliamentary group, said little progress has been made at effective reform. She called on the government to learn from past failings and consult former detainees, as well as the families of those currently detained. 'While the government commitment to appoint a special envoy to lead on the issue is welcome, this risks being meaningless and only an extension of inconsistent policy which plays into the hands of regimes deploying a hostage diplomacy tactic, unless the individual appointed is of significant stature, with the experience, remit and resources to negotiate for British citizens' release and support families,' said Kearns. As well as continued calls for the envoy appointment and on the government to prioritise cases, relatives and lawyers of some of those arbitrarily detained abroad have told the Guardian of the difficulties they have faced in getting help. Haydee Dijkstal, counsel for Ahmed al-Doush, a British national convicted in Saudi Arabia and sentenced to 10 years in jail over social media posts – now reduced to 8 – said the family continues to plead for the government to act with urgency. 'It is critical that the UK government demand full clarity and transparency about the treatment and proceedings against a British national, and take a firm and clear position that Ahmed is being arbitrarily detained,' said and representatives involved with high-profile cases who met Middle East minister Hamish Falconer in recent weeks to discuss the special envoy appointment, described the meeting as 'awful' as concerns were raised over promises made by the foreign secretary they feared would not be met. 'I saw no evidence that any thought had been given to design,' said Chris Pagett, the brother-in-law of Ryan Cornelius and a former civil servant, who attended the meeting. 'I have very little hope, unless a lot changes.' Kingsley Kanu, the brother of Nnamdi Kanu, a British national being held in Nigeria after falling victim to extraordinary rendition, has had no communication with the UK government, and said his brother, who is currently on trial, has not had a consular visit in two months. 'I was thinking the government of Keir Starmer would have done better,' said Kanu. 'All of them have ignored the issue of my brother.' In May, his brother, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), a prominent separatist movement proscribed in Nigeria, wrote to the British high commissioner to Nigeria asking for his case to be publicly acknowledged as unlawful. The letter said: 'Silence and procedure equivocation in the face of criminal acts carried out against a British citizen abroad do not represent diplomatic prudence; they represent dereliction of duty.'
Telegraph
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
EU doing more than UK to help Briton detained in Dubai, says family
The family of a British man who has been locked up in Dubai for 17 years have said the European Union is doing more to free him than the Government. Heather Cornelius, whose husband Ryan is detained by the UAE, said Brussels had given her 'hope again' after 17 years of failures by the Foreign Office to secure her partner's release. It came after the European Parliament overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling for the immediate release of Mr Cornelius, and for the British Government 'to take all necessary action' to facilitate that. The resolution, backed by 511 MEPs, also criticised the charges against Mr Cornelius, 71, as 'false' and a breach of international law. Mr Cornelius was convicted of defrauding Dubai Islamic Bank in 2008, alongside two fellow expats, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. At the end of their original sentences in 2018, a judge extended their sentences by 20 years in response to an application by the Islamic bank. Chris Pagett, Mr Cornelius' brother-in-law and a Foreign Office veteran of 32 years, said the family's calls for support from the Government had failed because diplomats were attempting to protect their ties with the UAE. Mr Pagett told The Telegraph: 'It's not that we've given up. We're very much trying to engage the British Government, but the Government and the Foreign Office are clearly in a bind over this case, or over anything that sort of creates turbulence around what it regards as one of its key sort of foreign relationships, the relationship with the UAE.' One of the proposals put forward by the family, alongside Sir William Browder, the American-born English financier and political activist, is sanctions against Dubai officials involved in Mr Cornelius' imprisonment. Mr Pagett said: 'They [Dubai] should worry about sanctions, but they're clearly not worried. 'They know that the British Government will never dare to do it. They don't have that same comfort with the EU.' He said the European Commission had discussed an 'explicit link' between Mr Cornelius's case and a trade deal between the bloc and UAE. The EU Parliament's resolution will force top Brussels officials to also raise his imprisonment with counterparts in Dubai and Britain. This renewed focus on Mr Cornelius couldn't come at a more important time for the family, who feel like Labour has largely ignored them since winning power. Lord Cameron, the former Conservative, had given them hope, appearing to know the case inside-out when they first met and promising to put it at the top of his to-do list. This sense of urgency was extinguished when David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, took over, despite the family urging him to impose financial sanctions on one of the Gulf emirate's most senior officials. Mrs Cornelius described their first meeting with Hamish Falconer, a junior minister for the Middle East and North Africa, as 'devastating'. 'His opening words were: 'I can't offer you any hope',' she said. Shortly after Sir Keir Starmer met Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Dubai's president, he was unable to say whether he'd raised Mr Cornelius's detention, in response to a question in the House of Commons. Mrs Cornelius, an Irish passport holder, has turned to Brussels for help because of the apparent resistance of the British Government to assist. She fears her time left with her ageing husband is being stolen away from her because of his imprisonment. Her three children, now in their late twenties and early thirties, have already grown up without their father. 'We don't have very long, Ryan and I,' she said. 'I'm 65 and Ryan is 71, you see what little time you do have left when you get older.' The 65-year-old had spent decades trying to enlist the help of the Government and only switched tactics when it felt like her efforts had become futile. She said: 'We went to Dublin and Brussels in the last couple of months. And it's incredible, absolutely incredible, what they have achieved in that short time. 'They said to me, 'why hasn't the British Government helped you more?' They find it implausible. They don't understand.' She said it had become hard to 'hold onto hope' until the EU Parliament passed its resolution. 'It has really given me a huge amount of hope again, and Ryan, he just couldn't believe it, it was fantastic,' Mrs Cornelius added.
Extra.ie
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Extra.ie
Irish woman seeks help for husband jailed on ‘trumped-up charges' in Dubai 17 years ago
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 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.'
Irish Independent
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
Heather Cornelius whose husband is detained in Dubai meets with politicians in Dublin
Ryan Cornelius, 71, was detained for 10 years in 2008 as part of a bank fraud case, with his detention extended by 20 years in 2018. A UN working group has found he is subject to arbitrary imprisonment. His wife Heather Cornelius, who is an Irish citizen, met with TDs and Senators at Leinster House in Dublin on Thursday to raise awareness of his case. Mrs Cornelius said her husband has said the Irish embassy in Dubai are 'way more proactive with prisoners than anybody else'. She was accompanied by human rights campaigner Bill Browder and her brother in law Chris Pagett.
The Independent
08-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Woman whose husband is detained in Dubai meets with Irish politicians
A woman whose husband has been detained in Dubai for 17 years met with Irish politicians on Thursday to garner support for his case. Ryan Cornelius, 71, was detained for 10 years in 2008 as part of a bank fraud case, with his detention extended by 20 years in 2018. A UN working group has found he is subject to arbitrary imprisonment. His wife Heather Cornelius, who is an Irish citizen, met with TDs and Senators at Leinster House in Dublin on Thursday to raise awareness of his case. Mrs Cornelius said her husband has said the Irish embassy in Dubai are 'way more proactive with prisoners than anybody else'. 'They really are fantastic. We would just like to try and get some more people backing us and supporting us,' she told PA ahead of the meetings. Mrs Cornelius, her brother-in-law Chris Pagett, and human rights campaigner Sir Bill Browder, were due to meet with Labour leader Ivana Bacik, Social Democrats TD Sinead Gibney, and Independent senators Aubrey McCarthy and Gerard Craughwell. They are also expected to meet with an official from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Mrs Cornelius said she has tried to campaign with the British government to push for her husband's release but has received 'very little back'. 'It's very much to try and increase our campaign. The years are running out. 'I'd like to get Ryan home, and I am an Irish citizen, and I feel that the more people that I can bring my story and perhaps get a little bit more help.' Mrs Cornelius' Irish mother met her father in Co Down and they married before moving to Zambia, where she was born. She then went to Coleraine High School and Jordanstown university in Northern Ireland, now known as Ulster University. She said that of the 40 years she and her husband have been married, he has spent 17 years in prison. 'That's the most devastating thing. It has been all the way along, but now it sits even heavier on both our shoulders that he's lost all that time with his family, and he'll never get that back. But we do hope that we'll get some time together, a few years (where) we could be happy.' She said that her youngest child was six-years-old when her husband was arrested, and is now 23. 'It's completely devastated our family.' She said her husband has high blood pressure, several skin conditions, has contracted TB while in jail and has had Covid-19 several times. 'There are no easy things about being in jail in the Middle East. 'We talk every day on the phone, and we hold on to that hope.' Chris Pagett, who is married to Heather's sister, said he has been part of efforts to push the British government to help secure Mr Cornelius's release. 'This has been a cross we've all had to bear. We always live with hope there'll be a breakthrough, but even if there is tomorrow, it's 17 years we'll never get back,' he said. Mr Pagett said that Ireland and the EU 'represents really one of our main hopes'. As a former British diplomat, Mr Pagett said the case highlights 'a chronic failure to protect your citizens abroad from injustice'. 'I think eventually a majority of British people will become more concerned about it,' he said. 'This will become a political issue, because at the moment, it's isolated cases here and there. 'Certainly, the issue is likely in the world that we are now living in to become much more of an issue.' Sir Bill Browder said the British government has 'basically been totally inactive' and that 'anything is better than nothing'. 'Ryan is a British citizen, but the British government has pretty much left him to hang out and dry. 'Given that there's a connection to Ireland, we thought that perhaps the Irish would care more about one of theirs than the British do about theirs. 'We're going to Brussels in a few weeks to meet people in the European Parliament – and particularly the Irish members of the European Parliament – and we're here in Dublin to meet with the Irish parliament, and we're trying to find any way to get him out. 'This man should not have been in prison at all, but to serve 17 years and to have his entire life ruined over this thing, it's just unfathomable.'
