
Demands grow for sanctions over British man detained in Dubai for 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.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


BBC News
2 minutes ago
- BBC News
Jersey chief minister calls for 'immediate' Israel-Gaza war halt
Jersey's chief minister has condemned the ongoing crisis in Gaza, calling for an "immediate cessation of violence against civilians and the release of all hostages".Deputy Lyndon Farnham said he had written to UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy, urging British pressure being maintained to end the said although Jersey was aligned with the UK in matters of international relations, the escalation of conflict had compelled him to "engage directly with the foreign secretary to ensure Jersey's position is reiterated and understood".He also said: "What we are witnessing in Gaza is a humanitarian tragedy on a devastating scale." His call comes after Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry reported 33 people, including 12 children, had died from malnutrition in the past 48 World Health Organization said Israel's offensive in central Gaza had compromised its efforts to continue working after its facilities had come under attack. The Israeli military said it detained "several individuals suspected of involvement in terrorism" in the area and that most were told the BBC on Tuesday he was appalled and sickened by the plight of civilians in Gaza after the Israeli government rejected an international statement which warned suffering has "reached new depths". Farnham said: "The loss of innocent civilian life, including thousands of children, is both shocking and unacceptable. "While Jersey is a Crown dependency and does not conduct its own foreign policy, we are a community founded on values of human dignity, justice and the rule of law."I urge the UK government to take the firmest possible action to press for an immediate ceasefire, the protection of all civilians, and unfettered humanitarian access into Gaza. "The international community must not turn a blind eye to breaches of international law or recent reports, including from Amnesty International, raising serious and credible concerns that aspects of Israel's actions in Gaza may be in breach of obligations under the Genocide Convention." 'Calling for peace' Farnham said Jersey Overseas Aid (JOA) remained in contact with international partners to "explore further avenues for urgent assistance and longer-term support for those affected by the conflict".JOA has allocated more than £1.3m since October 2023, with a UN representative calling its work "very inspiring"."We stand with all those calling for peace, accountability and the urgent protection of civilians, regardless of nationality," Farnham said.


Telegraph
32 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Putin is cornered. Ukraine is the point of main action
The eyes of the world are looking anywhere but at the most dangerous situation on the planet right now: the war in Ukraine. After what seemed to be a war-changing intervention by President Trump a few weeks ago, virtually every Western leader and country seems to be looking elsewhere. It is blithely assumed that Putin will come to the peace negotiation table in 40 days' time with cap in hand. Many MPs' thoughts seem to be turning to their extensive summer holidays which begin this week. When they end in five weeks' time, Trump's 50-day deadline will be almost upon us. We must ensure that it is a just peace for Ukraine we are discussing then, rather than an extension of the war to include us all. The only person who is still focused is Putin. As Trump announces much needed air defence and long-range missiles for Kyiv, Putin has ramped up drone swarm and missile strikes on civilian targets to 500 per night with a promise of 2000 very soon. We know where these mass drone factories are: we should be giving Ukraine the weapons to destroy them. With some fanfare over the weekend, we were led to believe that UK defence minister John Healey was going to galvanise the 'coalition of the willing' in Europe to up weapon delivery to Ukraine. Unfortunately, this much vaunted speech has barely caused a ripple. Most government ministers are apparently more interested in the Middle East than Europe. But however dreadful the events in Gaza and Syria might be, we are unlikely to get dragged into another war in the Middle East. We might very well in Europe. We have far too many protesters on our streets shouting about the children of Gaza. Why is nobody shouting about all the children killed by Putin's drones? Why isn't anyone on the streets waving banners in support of Ukrainian families from whom Putin has stolen 20,000 children? Israel has many critics but nobody credible would accuse that nation of child-snatching at all, let alone on such an enormous scale. Let us not forget that our Security Services warned us only last week that we are being subjected to a massive and continuous cyber-attack from Russia, and we have had to sanction 20 Russian spies because they have conducted – and continue to orchestrate – espionage and sabotage in this country. Russia is waging covert warfare against us here and abroad – and all anyone cares about is Gaza and Israel. We know the Russian elite are living in fear, as Putin's purges take their toll. The wealthy and powerful of Moscow are terrified following recent arrests and mysterious deaths. Putin's grip on power may be slipping: paradoxically this may make him more dangerous to the world, not less. The Russian economy is in freefall and will fall off a cliff if Trump does impose his promised sanctions at the end of the summer, but we must not give the Russian military freedom of manoeuvre over the next five weeks to seize more territory, kill more Ukrainians and steal more children. We can prevent this by accelerating weapons to Kyiv – Mr Trump has made it plain that the US will supply weapons if we will pay for them. We should also seriously consider using Nato jets to enforce no-drone zones around protected civilian targets, hospitals and schools, in the major cities like Kyiv and Lviv. This would be a show of intent that even the Kremlin would notice and yet it could not be taken as any form of attack on Russia. The Germans have a military concept, 'schwerpunkt', the point of main focus or action on which all force must be brought to bear. It is Ukraine, not Gaza, not Iran, that is the schwerpunkt now for the Western world. However much our political leaders, on all sides of the House, seem to believe they deserve the summer off, they don't. They must stay focused on the war that actually threatens us. The stolen children of Ukraine cannot take a holiday, the cruelly hard pressed Ukrainian soldiers cannot either. If we fail to prevent the war engulfing Europe this summer, none of us will be on holiday next summer.


Reuters
32 minutes ago
- Reuters
'I'm free now,' says Venezuelan singer held in El Salvador
CARACAS, July 22 (Reuters) - A Venezuelan singer who spent months in a notorious prison in El Salvador returned to his family in Caracas overnight, one of the first of more than 250 former prisoners to arrive home after they were sent back to Venezuela last week. Arturo Suarez was greeted with hugs and tears in working-class El Valle, south of the capital, by his sister, aunt and cousins. He later wiped away tears as he spoke to his wife and daughter, who live in Chile, via video call. "I'm free now, thank God, at last," said Suarez, who was arrested in February in North Carolina while filming a music video. He serenaded a crowd gathered in his family's living room. "I still can't believe it." The Venezuelans were sent to El Salvador from the United States in March, after U.S. President Donald Trump invoked the 1798 Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Tren de Aragua gang without normal immigration procedures. The deportations drew fierce criticism from human rights groups and a legal battle with the Trump administration. Families and lawyers of many of the men have denied they have gang ties. His wife has said Suarez had gone to the U.S. to boost his emerging music career and that he denied being a member of Tren de Aragua. "I thought of my daughter, I thought of my wife, of my siblings, of my family, I asked for strength to not give up, to not allow myself to die," Suarez told journalists about his detention. "I didn't - because I'm tough, I'm a Venezuelan." Suarez and the other detainees deported to El Salvador from the U.S. were returned to Venezuela on Friday in a prisoner exchange. Since arriving they have been undergoing medical checks and interviews with officials. Suarez said the guards at the CECOT prison beat prisoners and told them they would only leave dead. Some detainees considered suicide, he added. His comments tallied with other allegations of abuse made by former prisoners in videos broadcast on state television, including during a program with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday night. Venezuela's attorney general said on Monday his office will investigate El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and other top officials over the alleged abuse. Bukele's office did not respond to requests for comment. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the allegations. The Venezuelan opposition has regularly critiqued the Maduro government for holding activists and others in abusive conditions within Venezuela.