Latest news with #arbitrarydetention
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Demands grow for sanctions over British man detained in Dubai for 17 years
The Foreign Secretary has faced urgent calls to sanction those responsible for the detention of a British man in Dubai for the past 17 years. MPs and peers have urged David Lammy to publicly call for the release of Ryan Cornelius, now 71, who was detained for 10 years in 2008 as part of a bank fraud case. The detention was then extended by 20 years in 2018. A group of 15 parliamentarians, led by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said the case of Ryan Cornelius was a 'flagrant example of arbitrary detention and abuse of power'. A UN working group has found he is subject to arbitrary detention and last week the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning his detention in 'inhumane conditions' and calling for his 'immediate and unconditional release'. After the European Parliament resolution, Sir Iain and his colleagues asked Mr Lammy to 'immediately clarify the Government 's position on Mr Cornelius's case and confirm what steps you will now take to press for his release'. Specifically, they asked whether the Government would make 'strong representations to the UAE on his behalf', publicly call for his release and impose 'targeted' sanctions on those responsible for his detention. They said: 'The UK has a moral and legal duty to act, as well as a diplomatic responsibility to defend its citizens abroad from such mistreatment. 'We urge the Government to act with the utmost urgency to secure his release.' Sir Iain said it was 'vital' for the Government to take 'decisive action' to secure Mr Cornelius's release. Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has previously said the Government would 'continue to highlight their concerns' in talks with the UAE and was providing Mr Cornelius with consular assistance, while it took reports of human rights violations 'very seriously'. But the UK's response to his detention has been criticised by Mr Cornelius's wife Heather and brother-in-law Chris Pagett. They said: 'For more than 17 years, we have had nothing but defensive waffle from the British Foreign Office. 'The European Parliament has made a strong and direct call to the UAE for Ryan's release within months of our taking his case to them. 'The contrast is shameful. The British people deserve better.' It is understood that the Government is supporting Mr Cornelius's application for clemency, and the issue was raised by the Foreign Secretary during a trip to the UAE in December last year.
The Independent
15-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
MPs call for sanctions over British man detained in Dubai for 17 years
MPs and peers have urged the Foreign Secretary to sanction those responsible for the detention of a British man in Dubai for the past 17 years. The group of 15 parliamentarians, led by Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said the case of Ryan Cornelius was a 'flagrant example of arbitrary detention and abuse of power' as they asked David Lammy to publicly call for his release. Mr Cornelius, now 71, was detained for 10 years in 2008 as part of a bank fraud case, and the detention was extended by 20 years in 2018. A UN working group has found he is subject to arbitrary detention and last week the European Parliament passed a resolution condemning his detention in 'inhumane conditions' and calling for his 'immediate and unconditional release'. After the European Parliament resolution, Sir Iain and his colleagues asked Mr Lammy to 'immediately clarify the Government's position on Mr Cornelius's case and confirm what steps you will now take to press for his release'. Specifically, they asked whether the Government would make 'strong representations to the UAE on his behalf', publicly call for his release and impose 'targeted' sanctions on those responsible for his detention. They said: 'The UK has a moral and legal duty to act, as well as a diplomatic responsibility to defend its citizens abroad from such mistreatment. 'We urge the Government to act with the utmost urgency to secure his release.' Sir Iain said it was 'vital' for the Government to take 'decisive action' to secure Mr Cornelius's release. Foreign Office minister Hamish Falconer has previously said the Government would 'continue to highlight their concerns' in talks with the UAE and was providing Mr Cornelius with consular assistance, while it took reports of human rights violations 'very seriously'. But the UK's response to his detention has been criticised by Mr Cornelius's wife Heather and brother-in-law Chris Pagett. They said: 'For more than 17 years, we have had nothing but defensive waffle from the British Foreign Office. 'The European Parliament has made a strong and direct call to the UAE for Ryan's release within months of our taking his case to them. 'The contrast is shameful. The British people deserve better.' It is understood that the Government is supporting Mr Cornelius's application for clemency, and the issue was raised by the Foreign Secretary during a trip to the UAE in December last year.
Al Arabiya
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Kosovo fighter's sentence cut to 13 years despite court upholding convictions for murder and torture
Appeals judges at a European Union-backed court upheld murder, torture, and arbitrary detention convictions against a former Kosovo war liberation fighter Monday, but they cut his prison term from 18 years to 13 years, saying judges imposed too harsh a sentence at his trial. Pjetër Shala was convicted a year ago for his role in the abuse of detainees being held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, at a makeshift jail in a metal factory in Kukës, northern Albania, during Kosovo's 1999 war for independence from Serbia. The 62-year-old Shala watched Monday's hearing at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers by videoconference and shook his head after Judge Kai Ambos of Germany rejected large parts of his appeal and handed down the new sentence. The appeals panel, however, ruled that trial judges wrongly found him guilty of five cases of torture and two of arbitrary detention, saying there was insufficient evidence, but they upheld his convictions on the same counts for other detainees and for his role in the murder of one detainee who was shot and then denied medical treatment. In reducing his sentence, the three-judge appeals panel ruled that trial judges didn't give sufficient weight to the fact that Shala didn't hold a command role when the man was murdered. The appeals judges also said that the original 18-year sentence was out of reasonable proportion to comparable cases, the court said in a statement. Kosovo's 1998-1999 fight to break away from Serbia was led by the KLA, whose main leaders, including former President Hashim Thaci, are now being tried in The Hague. More than 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died during the war before a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull its troops out of the country and to cede control to the United Nations and NATO. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, which was recognized by the United States and most of the West, but not by Serbia or its allies Russia and China.
Washington Post
14-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Kosovo fighter's sentence cut to 13 years despite court upholding convictions for murder and torture
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Appeals judges at a European Union-backed court upheld murder, torture and arbitrary detention convictions against a former Kosovo war liberation fighter Monday. But they cut his prison term from 18 years to 13 years, saying judges imposed too harsh a sentence at his trial. Pjetër Shala was convicted a year ago for his role in the abuse of detainees being held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, at a makeshift jail in a metal factory in Kukёs, northern Albania, during Kosovo's 1999 war for independence from Serbia .
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Kosovo fighter's sentence cut to 13 years despite court upholding convictions for murder and torture
Appeals judges at a European Union-backed court upheld murder, torture and arbitrary detention convictions against a former Kosovo war liberation fighter Monday. But they cut his prison term from 18 years to 13 years, saying judges imposed too harsh a sentence at his trial. Pjetër Shala was convicted a year ago for his role in the abuse of detainees being held by the Kosovo Liberation Army, or KLA, at a makeshift jail in a metal factory in Kukёs, northern Albania, during Kosovo's 1999 war for independence from Serbia. The 62-year-old Shala watched Monday's hearing at the Kosovo Specialist Chambers by videoconference, and shook his head after Judge Kai Ambos of Germany rejected large parts of his appeal and handed down the new sentence. The appeals panel, however, ruled that trial judges wrongly found him guilty of five cases of torture and two of arbitrary detention, saying there was insufficient evidence. But they upheld his convictions on the same counts for other detainees and for his role in the murder of one detainee, who was shot and then denied medical treatment. In reducing his sentence, the three-judge appeals panel ruled that trial judges didn't give sufficient weight to the fact that Shala didn't hold a command role when the man was murdered. The appeals judges also said that the original 18-year sentence was 'out of reasonable proportion to comparable cases,' the court said in a statement. Kosovo's 1998-1999 fight to break away from Serbia was led by the KLA, whose main leaders, including former President Hashim Thaci, are now being tried in The Hague. More than 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died during the war, before a NATO bombing campaign forced Serbia to pull its troops out of the country and to cede control to the United Nations and NATO. Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, which was recognized by the United States and most of the West, but not by Serbia or its allies Russia and China.
