As of today, the BBC has reported that Cat Le-Huy, head of Technology at Endemol UK, has been
released from Al Wathba prison in Dubai, and is free to leave or stay in the UAE as he chooses. This brings to a close a month-long drama that attracted worldwide media and internet attention, and may have gotten the tourist and business-seeking Emirate to seriously re-evaluate how it deals with minor drug issues in immigration. (Then again, it may not.)
As reported
earlier on this blog, Le-Huy, a German citizen, was detained upon arrival in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, for possession of an over-the-counter jet lag, Melatonin, which is illegal in Dubai for some strange reason. He was strip-searched, made to give a urine sample and forced to sign arabic documents that he did not understand, and that the authorities would not translate.
Mr. Le-Huy tested negative for drugs, and the Melatonin was cleared by authorities. But he remained in prison, without any charges being laid against him, while the authorities tested the dirt in his bag (.003 grams) to see if it was, as they suspected, hashish. It's almost as if they were desperately searching for
something to bust him for.
In the meantime, his friends set up a website,
The Truth About Dubai, which hosted a
petition (which garnered more than 5700 signatures) and numerous informative links.
Before the results on the contents of his bag were even learned, Mr. Le-Huy was moved from his cell at the airport to Al Wathba prison, to be housed with other detainees awaiting trial. At that point he was told it might be another three months before he got to trial, and could expect a horrendous legal bill due to the small number of drug-offense lawyers operating in the UAE. He also learned that the substance in his bag had tested positive for drugs, but due to "incorrectly followed evidence procedures" the matter was still being investigated, and he still had yet to be charged.
As was
noted at the time:"Authorities have called on another extension for 7 days. At the conclusion of this 7 day period, an extension will most likely be sought for a further 30 – 40 days at which point a date for the hearing should be arranged and will cause further delays. At such time, his council will begin negotiations with the prosecution to drop the case and urge for a swift deportation. If he is not successful, Cat will have to wait a few more days for a preliminary hearing." That was February 10th. Less than a month later, Cat Le-Huy was a free man - all charges dropped, in spite of the police claiming that the .003 grams of dirt in his bag
was cannabis, after all. Mr. Le-Huy denies knowingly carrying drugs, and as
the equipment they use to detect drugs is so sensitive that it could pick up almost anything, the "cannabis" could have been in there for who knows how long.
(One moral of this story: when traveling to Dubai, purchase entirely new bags and clothing, and make sure your shoes are clean.)
Why the sudden turn-around? Normally, if something's dodgy in a drugs case, Dubai puts the accused on trial anyway, finds them guilty, sentences them to four years and then quietly deports them in the middle of the night after a few weeks or months. That way, they save face by looking merciful and benevolent by arranging an early release rather than looking stupid by admitting their overeagerness.
In this case, I think it was the
massive press attention and
protest actions that may have tipped the balance. Dubai as a rule abhors bad publicity, and the louder it gets the more likely they are to try and sweep something under the rug as quietly - or at least as quickly - as possible.
But however and whyever it happened, the fact remains that Cat Le-Huy is free, and
the people made it happen.The BBC went to Dubai to cover this story, and interviewed key officials in the case. The reporter and our attorney are saying that damage control is underway: many prisoners are about to be released, and they're promising reforms which could reduce these sorts of arrests happening to future travelers. Not holding my breath, but if this does transpire, then we've basically achieved everything we set out to do from the beginning, and that's a fair bit of awesome.
...
The media attention we've drawn from our collective efforts has resulted in not only Cat's release, but that of other prisoners and the subsequent changes that are under review. That's a pretty serious accomplishment.
...
I never thought I'd see the day where I said the internet restored my faith in humanity. This is the geek equivalent of an 80's movie ending.
