London grandad in Dubai prison for 'crime he didn't commit' forced to ‘make propaganda video’ while chained to hospital bed
A London grandad who is currently being held in a Dubai prison said he "fears for his life" after Dubai officers attempted to threaten him into making a propaganda video, his family have said.
Albert Douglas, 60, originally from Enfield, has allegedly endured beatings, torture and been denied vital medication in a Dubai prison for seven months for a "crime he didn’t commit".
His son Wolfgang Douglas told My London earlier this month that Albert had been taken to hospital after severe beatings from guards left him with a "bone protruding out of his arm".
He now alleges that while in hospital, Albert was given just one chilling option after his surgery.
His dad was told there was only one way for him to pay the medical bill - to create a "staged propaganda video" for the United Arab Emirates, declaring he had been treated well in their care.
Wolfgang told My London: “He sat there waiting, chained to the bed. Worrying. And they come in with six police soldiers.”
He claimed the guard explained to Albert: “Right, we’re going to start the camera and you’re going to make a video thanking Sheikh Mohammed for doing a very good job of looking after you.”
His dad would reportedly not succumb to the threats. Instead, he said: “If you’re going to snuff me, snuff me. If you’re going to hurt me, do it.
“You’re scaring me. You’re intimidating me. Why do you need six soldiers for this?
“Do what you’re going to do. Do it. But I’m not going to make a propaganda video.”
“It doesn’t take six armed soldiers to come and coerce an old man that’s just had an operation who is chained to a bed,” he urged.
Wolfgang said of his father: “They don’t make men like my dad anymore. I’m not half of my dad. To this day - I would have given in. I would have submitted to it.”
“You can beat him, you can torture him, you can deprive him of water. Sleep deprevation. You can do all of that, but he won’t cave,” he added.
The charity Prisoners Abroad confirmed to the Mirror that the FCDO was denied access to the hospital to visit Albert.
Wolfgang said: “They did all the proper clearing, and the soldiers met them at the door and said, ‘You can’t speak to him’.”
He added that the guards “rule by intimidation and fear”.
Wolfgang was luckily able to make contact with his father with the help of Prisoners Abroad, describing him as "terrified".
It has apparently become increasingly difficult for him to make contact with Albert since he went into hospital.
Albert was arrested in Dubai after he was fined over missed cheques involving a company his son owned.
The London grandad hadn’t been involved in the company himself since 2018, but could still be held liable under UAE regulations.
He attempted to flee the country in February this year, but was halted at the border. He has been in prison ever since, where Wolfgang says he continues to witness and endure torture, including seeing other prisoners have their testicles burnt.
The FCDO previously told My London: “We are supporting a British man following his arrest in the UAE, have raised his case with authorities in the country and are in contact with his family in the UK.
“We take all allegations of torture or mistreatment seriously and have requested that these allegations are investigated.”
By Ella Doyle, Reporter at MyLondon - full article available here
16:02, 19 SEP 2021
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