THE Iraqi lawyer of a Scottish father imprisoned in Iraq says ‘there is no case’ as they continue the fight for his release from prison.
Brain Glendinning was arrested at an airport in Iraq on September 12 over an alleged £20,000 loan from a Qatar bank.
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The father, from Kincardine, Fife, had gone to Iraq to work at a BP oil refinery when he was hit with a red notice from Interpol and arrested shortly after his arrival.
Now his Iraqi lawyer, Tahseen Alchaabawi, has told Detainees in Dubai: “The case of … Brain is a civil case and there is no criminal element under Iraqi law.”
Alhaabawi claims that the Qatari authorities are “deliberately not sending the case files to the Iraqi courts” in order to keep Brain in prison longer.
He claimed: “There is an arrest warning from Interpol against Brain from Qatar and unfortunately the Qatari authorities are acting hostile.
“They intentionally don’t send the file to the Iraqi court (they do it intentionally) so Brain stays in jail for a long time.”
Radha Stirling, an extradition crisis adviser who has assisted the family, added: “Delaying the required documentation is a tactic used to slow down the decision-making process in Iraq.
“If they sent the file, Iraq would immediately see that it was a civil case and there was no double criminality.
“Brain would be freed.”
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“Instead, he is being held in appalling conditions by order of the Qatar National Bank.”
Yesterday we shared the heartbreaking call Brain made with his wife Kimberley, telling her about the “rat infested prison” and the horrific conditions he was experiencing.
He said: “It’s rat-infested, bugs, dirty mattresses, no hot water, the food is reasonable.
“Rats run around the toilet and that’s where the bottled water is kept. Crowded, Kimberley.
“There are over 30 people in a holding cell that would normally hold 10 people.”
Brain and his family have urged the British to stop supporting Qatar in promoting themselves after Brain’s imprisonment.
He said: “The World Cup is coming, don’t promote it. Don’t go there.”
In a phone call to his home country, the 43-year-old also said: “The people who are going to Qatar for the World Cup shouldn’t see how I’m being treated and I haven’t even committed a crime.”
They have also urged David Beckham to use his influence to help after he signed a deal to act as the country’s ambassador ahead of the World Cup.
Now their local MP in both London and Baghdad has made contact with the Foreign Office and now Secretary of State James Cleverly is being urged to intervene diplomatically.
Arrested in Dubai said: “Ultimately, as the new Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly must step in and show that British nationals matter.
“It’s his job.”
The group has also warned that without intervention, Brain could be detained for months, if not years, and if extradited, he could spend two years or more in a Qatar jail and face being held hostage over a travel ban.
A spokesman for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office said: “We are supporting a Briton who has been arrested in Iraq and are in contact with local authorities.”
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