Quick, those of you using very powerful navigators. Look at the list of breaking stories on the upper right hand side of the front page of the Irish Independent site. All of them click through to another article, except guess which one which says IE cannot show the page - using my work Etisalat internet connection..(hint the time listed on the article is 08:46)...

http://www.independent.ie/

For anyone struggling.


Three British men who have been held for seven months without trial on drugs charges in Dubai were tortured by police with beatings and electric shocks, a human rights charity has claimed.

Grant Cameron and Karl Williams, both 25 and from London, and Suneet Jeerh, 25, from Essex, were arrested while on holiday on July 10 last year by police who claimed to have found a quantity of a synthetic cannabis known as "spice" in their car.

The men signed documents in Arabic - a language none of them understands - after being threatened by having guns put to their heads and in Williams' case, having electric shocks administered to the testicles, Reprieve lawyer Marc Calcutt said.

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Wow, thanks - was not connecting here but now it is! I had not heard of this case before at all...

Nor had I. Something strange when the Sun and Fail don't have this on the front page next to Coleen in her Bikini.

Now on the BBC website

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21517775

That will teach them that they should never have left Essex.

Had never heard of this. And 35 Britons arrested on one day?

From The Times:

Three British men arrested on holiday in Dubai were subjected to beatings and electric shocks by police, lawyers said today.
Grant Cameron, Karl Williams and Suneet Jeerh – who were arrested on drugs charges in the United Arab Emirates last summer - signed confessions that they could not read and suffered torture following their arrest, Marc Calcutt of legal organisation Reprieve alleged.
The men, all 25, remain in custody seven months after they were detained for allegedly possessing a small amount of a synthetic cannabis, known as “spice”. The substance had been available as a ‘legal high’ in the UAE until 12 days before their arrest and the Britons claim they did not know it had been prohibited.
They have pleaded not guilty to the charges, and will appear at their first hearing on Thursday 21 February.
Mr Calcutt said the three Britons had reported being beaten, threatened with guns to their heads and, in the case of Mr Williams, having electric shocks administered to the testicles.
The men signed documents in Arabic – a language none of them understands - following the torture, which they said took place in the desert and subsequently in a hotel room.
Mr Williams said in a statement that he believed he was “going to die” during the ordeal.
“I remember that the police put a towel on my face so I could not see. They kept telling me I was going to die. I was so scared. Once I had been knocked to the ground, the police picked me up and put me on the bed. They pulled down my trousers, spread my legs and started to electrocute my testicles. It was unbelievably painful. I was so scared.
“Then they took off the towel and I could see that there was a gun pointed at my head. All I could think was that the gun in my face could go off if the policeman slipped, and it would kill me. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room.”
Mr Calcutt said it was “truly appalling” that young British tourists on holiday could find themselves arrested and tortured in such a way. Such an incident could well harm tourism in the coastal city, he suggested.
“Being electrocuted in the testicles is about as brutal a torture as can be imagined. The Dubai authorities need to immediately drop the charges against the men and conduct an independent investigation into how these terrible events occurred.”
The British Embassy in Dubai said under the ban introduced on July 1, possession of “spice” was punishable with up to four years in prison followed by deportation. It noted that on the first day of the new law 35 Britons were arrested or detained.

Drugs disgust me and anyone who sells/buys/uses should be willing to accept some stiff punishment. I know, I know...there's a whole argument to be had on this one

But Holy smoke batman, that's a bit much! I like roasted nuts as much as the next man, but not in my undercrackers!

Moral of the story is don't do drugs!

Especially not in places that arbitrarily change the law and where they think torture is justified...

Not anywhere.

Apparently lots of those pesky kids had been ordering it online and getting it mailed over from the USA. The police had the "spice" held at the post office until it was made illegal and then waited there for the kids to come pick it up. When they did they got busted.

That's what my 19 year old (ex Jumeriah College) son said too, a load of his mates were arrested, but as they were under 18, they were basically let off with parental warnings. ie the parents had to sign something that said they'd never do it again.

Some other nationalities weren't as lucky...

So this was legal in the UAE? Amazing. Some would call this a loophole but having said that, I don't know why people think they can mess with such things in the countries where jails are nasty and punishments harsh and arbitrary.

And you're not posession of illicit booze? Actually, I agree with you.