Fasting For Justice In Dubai

Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments

Dear Friends,

Please read this AMAZING article by Al Jazeera News (Fasting for Justice in Dubai) regarding

The current situation of the Hunger Strike in Dubai Jail
The critical condition of the Hunger Strikers where one of them nearly died
The exact reason why my Dad and many others should have never gone to jail !

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2012/05/20125137122869100.html

Al Jazeera News - "….In October 2011, a court-appointed auditor reviewed Qurashi’s case, and found that he had no liability, and did not owe any money as a result. However, each of his appeals have been rejected."

PLEASE ALSO COMMENT at the end of the article to support me and all the other children suffering like me AND to encourage Al Jazeera to continue to support the campaign until they are all released.

Hunger Striker Collapses in Dubai Jail

Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments

A hunger-striker in Dubai Central Prison collapsed on Thursday morning, the third day of his total starvation regime.

Source 7 Days

Belgian expat Oliver Loeb, 51, was in Dubai's court waiting to be taken for a scheduled hearing when he slumped to the floor of his holding cell, according to fellow prisoners.

A source at Dubai Court confirmed that a prisoner had been taken ill.

Loeb this week told 7DAYS that he would rather die than stay in jail

He is just five months into a two-year sentence after cheques he wrote for his business bounced when an investor failed to pay promised capital.

A prisoner said this morning: "He was totally unconscious. Nobody knows where he was taken and nobody knows how he is yet."

Loeb, who joined Irish expat Chris Renehan on a hunger strike four weeks ago, collapsed 10 days ago and was taken to a medical facility inside Dubai Police HQ.

They gave him a glucose and saline drip and sent him back to prison a day later.

Three days ago, he said he would now be refusing fluids.

Yesterday, on the eve of his collapse, he told 7DAYS: "If they force-feed me what is the point? I will just refuse water again when they send me back to jail."

Loeb had three successful general trading companies in Dubai, but hit trouble when an investor pulled out and around Dhs3million-worth of security cheques Loeb had signed were sent to the bank and bounced.

Renehan said: "We are trying to find out where Oliver has been taken and how he is. We know he was unconscious."

The 38-year-old Irishman began his hunger strike after being told he is not “authorised” to sign for millions of dirhams his construction company is owed and which would pay off the bounced security cheques he wrote and see him freed.

Foreigners on hunger strike in Dubai jail (ft.com)

Posted on | May 14, 2012 | No Comments

By Camilla Hall and Simeon Kerr in Dubai (ft.com)

About 20 jailed foreign businessmen have gone on hunger strike in Dubai to protest against lengthy sentences for writing cheques that bounced, a criminal offence in the United Arab Emirates.

“I’ve exhausted every avenue that I can see,” Peter Margetts, 48, a former property developer, told the Financial Times from a prison pay phone. “I’ve exhausted the legal system, the lawyers have their hands tied here and they’re not going to rock the boat.”

Mr Margetts is one of three British prisoners who started a hunger strike on Sunday. Other jailed businessmen come from Ireland, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Lebanon, India and Pakistan.

Many of the hunger strikers fell victim to Dubai’s once-thriving real estate market, struggling to meet their payments when boom turned to bust in 2008. Twelve face sentences of more than 20 years because each bounced cheque can translate into a jail term of up to three years.

Mr Margetts has served three years of a more than 20-year sentence for 49 bounced cheques. The cheques bounced after a fraudulent developer stole money from him, he said. “Obviously it’s at the beginning [of the hunger strike] but I’m a strong sort of character – I got myself out of a really difficult life, I’ve always been a fighter I’m not going to give up,” he said.

Christopher Renehan, a 38-year-old Irishman and a partner in a contracting company, started the hunger strike last week. Late payments from clients meant cheques he had written on behalf of his company bounced.

The strike has served to highlight the archaic foundations of Dubai’s financial system, where failing to honour a cheque remains a crime. Post-dated cheques are used for security on anything from car leases to rentals to multimillion-dollar property deals.

“Before the crisis, the cheque issue wasn’t highlighted to foreigners. It’s only since the crisis that this has really come to light publicly,” said Radha Stirling, a lawyer and founder of Detained in Dubai, a pressure group lobbying on behalf of inmates in the emirate.

The hunger strikers argue that under Article 88 of the penal code they should only serve one sentence instead of several as the offences are so closely related. However, that article is not usually applied to cases concerning cheques, where there can be multiple counterparties, said Essam al-Tamimi, a Dubai-based lawyer, who often represents claimants.

In practice, few people serve more than 10 years for financial crimes as inmates are often pardoned before the end of their sentences. Mr Margetts’ sentence has already been reduced from 49 years.

The hunger strike has underlined the need for reform of the UAE’s financial system, which has tried to build a reputation as one of the world’s leading market hubs. Cheques remain the bedrock of the financial system, there is no clear bankruptcy law and government officials are still working on a new one. Dubai’s police chief, Dhahi Khalfan, alarmed by the rising number of financial crimes, has called for cheque cases to be handled on a civil basis.

Yousuf Miki, a Bahraini businessman who has served 40 months of a 29-year sentence, said he was willing to carry on the hunger strike until he died. He was jailed for writing bounced cheques worth up to Dh80m ($21.8m). “I have a 29-year sentence – I cannot waste my life here,” he said.

British consular officials have visited the jail in Dubai to check on the situation. “The welfare of British nationals in detention remains a high priority,” the embassy said in a statement. “We will monitor the situation closely.”

Dubai Jail Hunger Strike

Posted on | May 4, 2012 | No Comments

My dad and many other Foriegn Business men are all on a Hunger Strike in Dubai Jail because of the wrong application of the Dubai Check Law. The same Check Law should have protected them from going to jail IF it was applied correctly and IF they were given a Fair Trial.

The local UK Government MP and Fair Trials International are now urging the UK Government to push for an immediate release

Until then ALL Hunger Strikers remain firm that they will not give up the hunger strike until they do not get justice. The children of the prisoners are also promising to join the Hunger Strikers if justice is not done

Please Help us children by posting this video http://youtu.be/9dM8WvGgnDg on as many forums, blogs, facebook pages and websites you can so that it recieves Millions of hits and gets the positive support of the International World and Governments.

Irish builder leads 70 prisoners in hunger strike in Dubai

Posted on | April 25, 2012 | No Comments

Irish builder leads 70 prisoners in hunger strike in Dubai
Prisoners believe over 500 people are being held under same law for “bouncing cheques”

By
CATHY HAYES,

Imprisoned Irish man has gone on hunger strike against out of date laws in Dubai hoping that government will pay him the money he’s owed

Christopher Renehan (38), owner of construction company Sire Contracting, was jailed in Dubai for bad checks. He is now being joined on his hunger strike by 70 other inmates.

Last Thursday he was joined by a Belgian property developer who also wants to highlight their position to the world. It’s now expected that another 70 prisoners, being held under the same law, will join them.

Renehan has being on hunger strike for more than a week and is becoming increasingly weak.

He has, so far, served seven months of a seven year jail term. The prisoners say there more than 500 people behind bars for “bouncing cheques”.

The builder from Dublin said that although his cheques did bounce he was also owed $8.6 million (€6.6 million) by the Dubai government for work which his company, Sire Contracting, had already carried out for them. He said without that he has no way to pay the $2.62 million (€2 million) he owes his suppliers.

Officials from the Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi met with Renehan last Tuesday. He says he will continue to refuse meals until he receives his money from the government.

The Sun reported Renehan as saying, “I fully understand the serious implications of this action. I demand that the Dubai government-owned entities pay the dues owed to my company so that we can resettle our debts and repatriate our staff.”

Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, told IrishCentral that these men are protesting “against bounced cheque and financial crime laws in the UAE”.

“It is time the UAE reviewed financial laws as in modern life, they are now being misused and misapplied. Cheques are now being written to cover all aspects of daily life in the UAE (rental agreements, mortgages and business activities).

“If a resident is granted a mortgage for example, he writes a cheque to the bank for the entire value of the property. If he defaults of a few payments, the bank has the power to imprison him for three years, per cheque. It is time this practice of criminalizing debt is reviewed and turned into a civil offence, in line with first world standards.”

The Dublin builder’s father, living in Swords in north county Dublin, said, “We’re worried sick about him.”

According to his cellmate he’s “suffering from bad headaches”.

His father said told the Sun, “I have no choice but to go over there to see him. There is no talking him out of it. He is not taking any food at all, just water.”

UAE Embassy Campaign Pics

Posted on | November 18, 2011 | No Comments

It’s cold, windy and tiring but we will not give up….

Here’s a few recent pics.

My Meeting with UAE Ambassador

Posted on | November 12, 2011 | No Comments

We left the campaign early on Friday 11 Nov 2011 because there was another group protesting opposite us and we were advised to leave. Before leaving I went to the UAE embassy to ask if HH Sheikh Mohammed has received my letters. As I asked the UAE ambassador came into the embassy and invited us in. He was so nice, he listened to what I had to say about my dad. I couldn’t help but cry as I told him everything. He was so polite and said that I should become a lawyer and has promised that today he will write to UAE government.

After the meeting with the UAE Ambassador we havedecided to stop for a couple of days. We will start our campaign again outside the UAE Embassy when the Embassy opens up next week.

I have hope that my papa will be home soon inshallah.

Why am I campaigning daily outside UAE EMBASSY (London)?

Posted on | November 7, 2011 | No Comments

Hi Friends and Supporters,

People have asked me why I am campaigning everyday outside the UAE Embassy in London since 5th November 2011. There is only ONE reason why I am out here in the cold everday outside the embassy from 9am to 3pm and that is to ask why is my dad in jail?

The Judge in the Dubai courts ordered experts to make a report about my dad’s cases. The court expert report came back to the Judge clearly stating that my dad does not owe any money to the complainers AND that he has made full payments for the amounts on the cheques. I am attaching below an extract of the report created by the team, for you to read.

SO plz I really need your help to support me ouside the UAE Embassy in London and sign my petition to get an answer to my simple question: “If 2 Court Experts appointed by Dubai Judges state: ‘No money owed’, why is my Dad in Jail?”

If you cannot come to the UAE Embassy in London then please support me online (see under my signature).

Thankyou for all your help and support.

Sara Qurashi

Website:      www.justiceformydad.com
Email:          justiceformydad@gmail.com
Facebook:   www.facebook.com/justiceformydad
Twitter:       www.twitter.com/justiceformydad
Blog:           http://justiceformydad.blogspot.com/

“When you do not find the way ahead, you make your way by yourself” - His Highness, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum (Ruler of Dubai)

————————————————————————————————————————–

Extracts from Court-Appointed Expert Report

[NOTES: Comments appear in [square brackets] and the (third) defendant refers to Safi Qurashi]

Assignment and mission:

“We have been assigned to perform the mission on 10/7/2011 as per the notification issued by the honorable court in which the mission is determined, after reviewing the case papers and papers submitted.”

1- “Whether or not the defendants have paid the value of the check subject of the dispute.”

2- “How the check subject of the dispute has been paid and the date of payment. “

1- Whether or not the defendants have paid the value of the check subject of the dispute:

“It may seem that the response to the question raised by the honorable court is easy and simple, but in fact it is complicated and not easy to answer directly, because it requires to know the accurate details of all the previous contracts between the parties and to study and analyze all the transactions, payments and bank transfers, because there are operations for transfer and receiving of funds which were executed between both parties in very huge amounts, thus, it is necessary to understand the details of these transactions in order to understand the facts.”

“In this project the third defendant [Safi Qurashi] has played the role of the real estate broker.”

“Although the defendant has paid this amount to the plaintiff but the plaintiff was claiming amounts more than it was entitled to.”

[Referring to the table of accounts done by the expert, he stated the following:]

“It is clear from the above that the third defendant has paid to the plaintiff or to third parties as per the request of the plaintiff the amount of AED 1.491.138 in excess of the value of the contracts executed between them.”

“In order to respond to the question raised by the honorable court, whether or not the defendants have paid the value of the check subject of the dispute, we confirm that the defendants have paid the entire dues of the plaintiff.”

2- How the check subject of the dispute was paid and the date of payment:

“As we have stated under article first within the opinion of the expert, the payments of the third defendant were not related to certain checks, but were made in installments according to the work perform by the third defendant in terms of sale of villas and transfer of amounts to the plaintiff or payment of amounts to third parties on behalf of the plaintiff and as per the request of the plaintiff.”

“we can say that the defendant has paid the value of that check as per the statements included under article first above.”

Conclusion:

“we confirm that the defendants have paid the entire dues of the plaintiff with respect to the abovementioned three contracts executed between both parties.”

“for which the third defendant has submitted this check subject of the case as a guarantee for payment of the amounts”

[As the expert has confirmed these were only guarantee cheques and once all the payments were made they should have been returned and not banked]

“we can say that the defendant has paid the value of that check as per the statements included under article first above.”

[Finally, after reading the above conclusions from the Court-Appointed Expert report which clearly state that Safi Qurashi owes no monies to any complainer, you will fully appreciate that Sara Qurashi is campaigning for NO other reason except to ask the simple question:]

“WHY IS MY DAD IN JAIL?”

Day 1 – Me and my cousins making support cards…

Posted on | November 5, 2011 | No Comments

I’m here with my cousins fighting the cold outside the UAE Embassy making support cards for my dad.

UAE Embassy Campaign – Day 1 (Morning)

Posted on | November 5, 2011 | No Comments

Hi Friends,

We setup outside the UAE Embassy in London (South Kensington) today on Saturday 5th Nov 2011. All my cousins joined me. We went by tube and walked to the Embassy. It was cold in the morning but I really wrapped up.

First setup the Table where all the banners would go and where the people could come to sign up my petition. Maaria and my other cousins helped get the banners up and put them around the table.

Very quickly people started walking upto the table to ask questions as to what we were doing. My uncle and aunties started telling them that we were here becuase we wanted to get our message sent to Dubai regarding my Dad’s case and how he has been wrongfully jailed and that even according to UAE Laws he should not be in Prison.

The people were soo nice and helpful. I have already collected loads of signatures in only a few hours! Everybody who walks past asks lots of questions and give their support. Thank you to Natalie Smith who recently walked to the table and gave me such great support…

The Independant Newspaper came in the morning and spoke to us took lots of pictures.