A young British woman was arrested and is being detained in Dubai after witnessing a physical altercation in a hotel lobby.

Asa Hutchinson, 21, of Chelmsford, in Essex, was held by police after a group of her male friends took selfies with a man in his 50s who had fallen asleep on a sofa.

The man, reported to be a technology company executive, allegedly began punching the pranksters when he woke up, a number of whom suffered blows to their heads.

Ms. Hutchinson claims she was not present during the incident but has been charged with assault and theft and campaigners are now warning she faces the risk of jail.

She said: “The man woke up and began punching the boys. I heard the commotion and came back to see what was going on.

“He called the police and made official complaints about the boys for taking pictures of him and for being rude.”

The men had been visiting ex-pat Asa when the incident happened nearby Dusty’s bar in the DIFC district. They have since left Dubai, allegedly leading police to charge her as if she were responsible for their actions.

Asa’s mother, Lucie, said: “You always worry about your kids, especially in these Middle Eastern countries.

“There is so much on the news about the way they treat British visitors, but Asa was having a great time.

“She loved the work and made so many friends. She is a quiet, sensible girl and really is the last person to start any trouble.”

Briton Jamie Harron was recently freed in Dubai, following three-month imprisonment for touching a man’s hip.

The Standard has approached the Foreign Office for comment.

British Woman, 21, Arrested in Dubai for ‘Witnessing Fight’ in Hotel Lobby, www.msn.com/en-gb/news/world/british-woman-21-arrested-in-dubai-for-witnessing-fight-in-hotel-lobby/ar-BBFUk7V?li=AAmiR2Z&MSCC=1511966174&ocid=spartanntp.                          

A tourist who was arrested for allegedly using his mobile phone while going through security at Abu Dhabi International Airport was fined Dh10,000 and will be deported.

Joseph Lee, a 59-year-old American, who was arrested in the capital before Thanksgiving will be repatriated after paying his fine, officials said.

Mr. Lee’s son, Jonathon, who was traveling with his father, said Joseph was filming his mistreatment by airport officials.

“I believe he began recording because they were treating him unfairly, in a rude manner, and in Abu Dhabi that’s a pretty big criminal offense and I believe that’s why he was detained,” Jonathan told local news agencies.

The two were transiting in Abu Dhabi for 11 hours after returning from a holiday together in Bangkok.

Jonathan told NBC they took a quick tour of the city before returning to the airport where they were separated as his father was selected for a secondary security screening.

Jonathan said he received a phone call from his father moments later telling him he had been arrested.

He said he expected his father to be released momentarily so he boarded a plane and returned home.

Taking photographs or filming in public places is not prohibited in public places in the UAE unless explicitly stated. However, it is forbidden to film or photograph critical installations and strategic and military locations, for instance, for security reasons. Taking photographs at airport security stations is prohibited across many countries.

Jonathon and his father had planned to spend Thanksgiving at his daughter’s home in Texas.

“We just want to let the UAE government know that there is no ill intent of my father and that we just want him back home. We want him back home safe and sound,” Jonathon said.

Nowais, Shireena Al. “Tourist Fined Dh10,000 and Deported for ‘Filming Abu Dhabi Airport Security’ .” The National, The National, 27 Nov. 2017, www.thenational.ae/uae/courts/tourist-fined-dh10-000-and-deported-for-filming-abu-dhabi-airport-security-1.679135.                          

A Plano family is desperate for information this Thanksgiving after their father was arrested thousands of miles from home.

Joseph Lee’s children say he was arrested at an airport in Abu Dhabi for one reason: he used his cell phone while going through security.

They say they haven’t heard from him since.

“I believe he began recording because they were treating him unfairly, in a rude manner, and in Abu Dhabi, that’s a pretty big criminal offense and I believe that’s why he was detained,” his son Jonathan Lee said.

Lee was with his father at the airport.

They were wrapping up a father, son trip to Bangkok, Thailand.

The Lees were on the last leg of their return home. They had an 11-hour layover in Abu Dhabi.

Jonathan says they took a quick tour of the city and when they returned to the airport, Joseph was randomly selected for a secondary security screening.

They were separated and minutes later, Jonathan says he received a phone call from Joseph telling him he was under arrest.

Jonathan says his father expected to be released momentarily so he boarded a plane and returned home.

Neither he nor his sister, Elaine Strathern, have heard from him since.

“It’s awful, absolutely awful. We just want my dad back,” Jonathan said.

“We just want our father back. He’s a very good man,” Strathern said.

The family planned to spend Thanksgiving together at Elaine’s Plano home.

Celebrating, now, is the last thing on their minds with their 59-year-old father stranded overseas.

“We just want to let the UAE government know that there is no ill intent of my father and that we just want him back home. We want him back home safe and sound,” Jonathan said tearfully.

The Lee family has created an online petition to bring awareness to their story. As of Thursday, it had been signed by nearly 500 people.

NBC 5 contacted the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi. A representative said they are looking into the matter.

Yeomans, Meredith. “Family Begs for Father’s Return After UAE Airport Arrest.” NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, 23 Nov. 2017, www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Man-Arrested-for-Using-Cell-Phone-in-Security-at-Abu-Dhabi-Airport-459458793.html.                          

A retired businessman has won his fight against extradition to the UAE after he faced being deported for helping his daughter escape her troubled marriage there.

The grandfather, of Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, faced torture if he was sent back.

He left his whole life, including his business, behind when he left after five years in October 2010 to help his daughter escape the violent marriage.

He suffers from chronic asbestosis and has struggled to rebuild his life in Scotland ever since his return.

His former son-in-law, Saeed Al Mehri, 45, accused him of a ‘breach of trust’ after he realized there was no hope of reigniting his relationship with Sharon, or her daughter, eight.

The UAE then reported the case to Interpol and has been trying to get him extradited there since 2013.

Today the extradition request was finally turned down at a court hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Speaking at the hearing, Sheriff Thomas Welsh said there was a risk he is tortured if he was sent back for the potential one-year prison sentence.

He is believed to be the first attempted extradition to the UAE from Scotland.

Following the hearing, Mr. Black said he was relieved but exhausted: ‘I am feeling great and very relieved.

‘It was a very strong judgment against the extradition from the Sheriff.

‘It’s just been hearing after hearing, I think I have had 20 or more, plus eight full days of court – it’s been exhausting.’

Mr. Black employed his former son-in-law as a local representative for his international logistics business in Dubai to use his ‘local influence’ to help with the company.

But Mr. Al Mehri reportedly began drinking heavily and acting abusively, the hearing was told.

Mr. Black’s daughter Sharon then decided to leave the UAE permanently with their daughter, Alya Black, eight, and return to Scotland.

It is believed Mr. Al Mehri then fabricated the ‘breach of trust’ allegations in a bid to force his wife and child back to the Emirates.

Mr. Black added today said: ‘This has been a very scary experience for my family.

In 2010, when I came back to Scotland it was clear Saeed was very angry we had got out, but he still hoped and tried to reconcile his relationship with my daughter.

‘In 2011, my daughter, against my better judgment, decided it was unfair for her to not allow her daughter to have a relationship with Saeed.

‘So he came over here to Scotland to visit us, and then again in 2012.

‘He became very anxious to get my granddaughters passport back to the UAE for renewal, and it was at that point Sharon told him Alya was a British citizen now.

‘He realized there was no chance they were going to reignite their relationship.

‘And in 2013, after my daughter received a lot of threats from him, out of the blue this case came against me.’

Mr. Al Mehri accused Mr. Black of stealing a share of the businesses, which Mr. Black branded as ‘laughable’ and a ‘total joke’.

He said: ‘Saeed along with his brother, who is a chief prosecutor, convicted me of this breach of trust, in my absence, and then tried to go for extradition.

‘It was all a complete fabrication and utter nonsense.’

Mr. Black was then convicted of a £250,000 embezzlement – despite him not being in the country at the time.

David Haigh, managing partner of law firm Haigh International Justice testified earlier on in the extradition hearing.

Mr. Haigh, who is a former managing director of Leeds United Football Club, spoke of his own personal experience with the UAE legal system after he was wrongly imprisoned himself.

He said: ‘The UAE is increasingly using Interpol for frivolous cases that do not even fall under its mandate.

‘Interpol is not an instrument to be used in private disputes, yet the UAE frequently reports non-criminal matters such as debt defaults and bounced cheques.

‘Mr. Black’s case is particularly alarming because not only is it a private matter, but the motive behind it is essentially a personal grudge.’

If Mr. Black were to have been extradited, given the personal nature of the case, and the family connections and influence of his former son-in-law, he would be in danger of serious violations of his human rights.’

‘It appears that the goal of this case was to force Mr. Black’s daughter to return to the UAE, and the case was being used as leverage to coerce her capitulation.

The cost of UAE extradition requests is high, estimated to be in the millions per year – with prosecutors acting on behalf of the UAE at the UK taxpayer’s cost.

There are court costs, prosecuting counsel and defense counsel costs, usually covered by legal aid.

Robin, Klopa. “Lesmahagow Grandfather Will Not Be Extradited to UAE.” DeathRattleSports.com, 18 Nov. 2017, deathrattlesports.com/lesmahagow-grandfather-will-not-be-extradited-to-uae/168841.

Gary Black, from Lesmahagow, was facing 12 months in prison for an alleged “breach of trust”.

At a hearing at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, it was ruled that his human rights were at risk.

The 64-year-old was wanted over embezzlement charges which he said were invented by his former son-in-law.

The hearing took place on 17 November in Edinburgh, after a request was made to extradite Mr. Black to the Middle Eastern country in 2013 after he was convicted in absentia of a £250,000 embezzlement.

But the court ruled that there was a high chance he would be denied his human rights in jail. It is believed to be the first attempted extradition to the UAE from Scotland.

In his judgment, Sheriff Thomas Welsh said there was a “real risk that if he is returned he will be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment”.

“Ahmad Zeidan: British Student Released from UAE Prison.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Nov. 2017, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-42008678.

A British student has been freed from jail in the United Arab Emirates after a three-year campaign for his release.

Ahmad Zeidan was imprisoned in 2014 after 0.04g of cocaine was found in a car in which he was a passenger. He always claimed he was innocent.

His father Manal said his son was freed after a £4,000 fine was paid and added: “We are overjoyed… he is finally free and still can’t believe it’s real.”

The Foreign Office said it “assisted” during Zeidan’s detention and release.

Mr. Zeidan said his son has now left UAE and “wants to restart his education” after “recovering from his ordeal”.

Zeidan, now 23 and formerly from Reading, was studying at Emirates Aviation College when he was arrested. He claims he was tortured into admitting drug charges. All the local men in the car were given pardons, but Zeidan was jailed in a Sharjah prison.

His family enlisted the help of human rights charity Reprieve and appealed to the Foreign Office to intervene, which led to a bilateral meeting between the British and UAE governments in March 2016.

When these came to nothing the student went on a three-day hunger strike, and unsuccessfully appealed for a royal pardon.

But following a high court appeal and a change in UAE drug laws, his sentence was reduced to seven years on 4 October.

His father told the BBC the family then hired another lawyer who successfully appealed for a further sentence reduction to five years, “most of which [Ahmad] had already served in detention”.

He added: “He could be released if a fine of approximately £4000 was paid. This was raised and he was freed immediately.”

Mr. Zeidan said media coverage of his son’s case was “the only ray of light that kept both his story and motivation alive while he was being held prisoner for years”.

“[Ahmad] is still fragile and needs rest and recuperation to overcome past seizures he suffered while in captivity,” he said.

“Nothing can compensate for the material and emotional loss that he has endured.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “Our staff assisted a British man and his family during his detention and subsequent release in the UAE.”

“Ahmad Zeidan: British Student Released from UAE Prison.” BBC News, BBC, 16 Nov. 2017, www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-42008678.