Dubai prisoner: Wife pleads for help to get husband home

Ryan Cornelius's family fear he will die in prison

A woman whose husband has been detained in the United Arab Emirates over a bank fraud since 2008 has pleaded for the government to intervene.

Heather Cornelius "doesn't know how else we are going to get him home" other than with UK government help.

Husband Ryan, 68, was arrested at Dubai airport in 2008 and sentenced to 10 years in jail. Three years later he was later given a further 20-year sentence.

The United Nations has called for the immediate release of the Londoner.

He is said to be seriously ill with tuberculosis.

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The UN says the 68-year-old has been held arbitrarily and that it believes his guilt was "predetermined".

A source is said to have told the UN that Mr Cornelius's rights were not upheld, alleging he was tried without representation and subjected to aggressive interrogation.

Mr Cornelius was a property dealer with interests in the UAE

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was providing him and his family with consular support and was studying the UN's opinion and raising this with authorities in the UAE.

Mr Cornelius, who was a property dealer with interests in the UAE, was arrested and detained following a series of complicated business dealings with the Dubai Islamic Bank.

In May 2008 he was reportedly arrested by four men in civilian clothes and an unmarked car. Later, he was allegedly handed documents in Arabic without translation and subjected to experienced prolonged periods in solitary confinement.

'Desperate'

Nearing the end of his 10-year sentence, Mr Cornelius had been due to be released in 2018, but his sentence was increased by 20 years, reportedly due to an Emirati law passed after his arrest.

Mrs Cornelius told BBC London that she believed it has gone beyond what she described as a "minor banking fraud".

"This is enough now," she said.

"It is more than anybody can take. We are all desperate to get Ryan home."

Heather Cornelius called on the government to ensure her husband could return to the UK

Mr Cornelius reportedly contracted tuberculosis in 2019 and it is alleged he did not receive treatment for 18 months.

A source also told the UN that he suffered from high cholesterol and blood pressure.

"He's not well at all," said Mrs Cornelius.

"The whole accumulation of being in jail for 14 years has really taken its toll."

'It's been tough'

Her son, 20-year-old Josh, expressed how difficult it had been to grow up without his father.

"Every year on my birthday or my dad's birthday, it does not really feel like a celebration," he said.

"It feels like he is lost out of my life, another year where I am losing time with him.

"It's been tough."

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British man detained in the UAE. We have been in close contact with the UAE authorities to ensure that the welfare of all British people in UAE prisons is met."

'Stringent procedures'

A spokesperson for the UAE Embassy in the UK insisted Mr Cornelius had had "a fair trial" and had failed to repay money he owed.

"Ryan Cornelius illegally obtained a loan of £372m, by bribing staff members at Dubai Islamic Bank," the spokesperson said.

"Following a fair trial in which all due processes were followed, Mr Cornelius was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was later lawfully extended as he had failed to repay the creditor (Dubai Islamic Bank) during this time - which is in line with UAE law.

"The whereabouts of the funds Mr Cornelius obtained are unknown."

The spokesperson added that the UAE's treatment of prisoners was "in line with international standards".

"The UAE judicial system is independent and equitable, and guarantees the mandatory presence of a translator at all stages, the right to seek a lawyer at all stages, the provision of a lawyer at the state's expense if the defendant cannot appoint legal counsel, and the right to appeal.

"In line with international standards, the UAE has stringent laws, regulations and procedures in place to ensure the physical and psychological wellbeing of detainees in its prisons. All inmates receive medical care as required."

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