2023-10-04 14:06:17
A 21-year-old American woman was only supposed to spend six hours in Dubai, but she was stuck there for months, and for a while it looked like she might even end up in jail for a year.
The American arrived in Dubai only for a transfer Elizabeth Polanco on July 14. The 21-year-old college student was on his way home from Turkey to New York and was only supposed to spend six hours in the Middle Eastern city, but his fate took an unexpected turn, reports the New York Post.
The young woman and a friend were originally supposed to travel home from a vacation in Istanbul with a transfer in Paris, but they changed their tickets so that they could see a little bit of the futuristic city during a waiting period of a few hours.
Los Santos had to wear a special waist brace due to a previous surgery. At airport security, she was told she had to remove her brace so they could be fully searched.
Los Santos says he was scared and confused. Two female members of the security service escorted him to a separate room, stripped him shirtless, and removed his brace, the clips and straps of which he struggled to manage alone. The American woman says the security guards behaved in a rude and humiliating manner.
Several times they caused him sharp pain when they touched his still sensitive surgical scars and laughed while he stood naked in front of them in shame.
As the search was taking place, Los Santos reached for the arm of one of the security guards and pushed him away from his wound as he began to cry and scream for help to his friend. The security service detained the American woman and held her for hours. Later, they made him sign a paper in Arabic, of which he did not understand a single letter, and then they told him that he could leave the airport, but not the country, because they had initiated proceedings against him for attacking and insulting the security guard.
Los Santos had to stay in Dubai at his own expense. His family spent more than 50,000 dollars (18 million forints) on hotels and lawyers. In August, the court fined the American woman 10,000 dirhams (about one million forints), and then she would have been released, but the prosecution appealed, so Los Santos had to remain in Dubai.
In early October, Los Santos was sentenced to one year in prison.
The NGO Detained in Dubai, which provides assistance to foreigners arrested in the United Arab Emirates, announced on Tuesday that, thanks to their intervention, Los Santos’ sentence was reduced, the young woman will be deported from the Emirates, so she can finally return home to her family.
According to Detained in Dubai, there are countless similar cases of abuse in Dubai’s justice system, so American diplomacy should review the extent to which it recommends its citizens to travel to the Emirates.
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