A Scot jailed in Iraq has made a desperate appeal to Rishi Sunak to help him drive him home after being arrested over a £20,000 debt to a bank in Qatar. QNB) following his arrest at Basra International Airport on 4 September.
The QNB has since issued an authorization email stamped by the Qatari government and no longer needs the father of three to be extradited, but this has been communicated to the Iraqi government. Brian will be detained until Iraq receives a diplomatic email from Qatar.
Brian, from Kincardine, Fife, said he was worried about his life as the traumatic experience is affecting his health. He begs the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister to interfere and help him bring the house to his circle of relatives worried that the debt is now over. been paid
He said: “We have done everything we can to fix this mess. The bank has acquitted me and no longer needs to be extradited, but the government communicates. “
“It’s the most traumatic experience of my entire life. My fitness is failing and I’m losing my mind. I can’t go on like this.
“I beg Rishi Sunak and James Cleverly to get countries to communicate. Now it’s just bureaucracy, but it’s my life, every moment is painful.
“I’m hurting and I’m worried about my life every moment I’m here. The situations here are difficult. I’m not in a minimum-security criminal with white-collar criminals. This is Iraq and the only The explanation of why I took a task here was to help my circle of relatives and pay the Qatar Bank.
“It’s not just complicated for me. It’s my whole family, we cry every day. Please help us. “
Brian intended to start working as a structural engineer when he flew to Iraq on September 4, but when he tried to get through border control, he was handcuffed and taken to a holding cell. issued in connection with a £20,000 defaulted loan it had secured with the Qatar National Bank in 2016.
Douglas Chapman, MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, met this week with Qatar’s ambassador, who told him he would be a factor with the Qatari government. In a letter personally delivered to His Excellency Mr. Yousef Ali Al-Khater, Douglas explained that the matter had been resolved with QNB.
The local MP called on Qatar to speed up sending a diplomatic note to Iraq without further complications after QNB agreed to withdraw the police case and extradition request.
However, Brian’s brother, John Glendinning, said the silence of the British government was “deafening”. Involved, we have heard nothing and the silence is deafening.
“We are only asking for an undeniable communication from Iraq to tell them to close the case. That would be enough for Brian to be released and go home. “
Devastated wife Kimberly added: “It’s disheartening to have to tell Brian every day to hang in again. It’s not true. They treat it like it’s nothing. I just don’t see how our government can welcome and inspire Qatar without getting upset. “to assistance in a scenario like this that is obviously bad. He paid the bank. The bank no longer needs him in prison. What would it take for Qatar to show that it cares about people? »
Radha Stirling, founder of Due Process International, also called on the UK to stand up for human rights and use diplomatic channels to bring Brian home.
She said: “The family circle is going through hell right now and we call on the respective governments to end Brian’s detention.
“He spent two months in a Baghdad prison, paid off his debt and it turns out he cares that he still languishes there in the run-up to the World Cup?
“Surely it’s time for James Cleverly and Rishi Sunak to use their diplomatic channels to take this last step and bring Brian home. Let no one be arrested and treated like garbage for small bank debts. “
A Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth spokesperson
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