Radha Stirling

Radha Stirling founded Detained in Dubai in 2008, a civil and criminal justice organisation after her colleague, Mr. Cat Le-Huey, was imprisoned in Dubai. Stirling led the campaign to facilitate the media coverage on Cat Le-Huey's case, led to Stirling receiving consistent requests from other people in need of help. It was then that she realised Le-Huey's case was not isolated and that there was a need for an organisation to assist victims of injustice.

Stirling also campaigns for changes to the legal system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to improve its process of law and founded Due Process International to campaign for reforms in the wider Middle East.

She states her goal is to directly impact the development of international judicial systems and has widened her focus beyond the UAE to cover other Middle Eastern countries.

Stirling has worked closely with Senators and Ministers of Parliament; her work with the Australian Parliament ensured provisions to safeguard citizens against human rights violations were included in their extradition treaty with the UAE.

Most recently, in March 2018, acting for Sheikha Latifa Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, after she made allegations of abuse and torture against her father, the ruler of Dubai, Prime Minister and Vice President of the UAE.

Early life

Stirling attended Mater Christi College, Yarra Valley Anglican School, Box Hill TAFE and Bond University Law School.

Career

Stirling became active in the Middle Eastern region when Cat Le-Huy, a colleague and friend, was detained in Dubai. She led a campaign for his release in 2008, founding Detained in Dubai.

She was a partner of Dubai and Cairo based law firm Nasser Hashem and Partners, but left the firm after five years. Stirling opened a Civil & Criminal Justice Law Company, Stirling & Partners, specialising in extradition and Interpol cases and is an advocate for policy reform within Interpol to prevent Interpol Abuse. Stirling has provided expert witness testimony in UAE extradition cases and civil litigation suits as a "country expert".

in 2017, Stirling and Barrister Ben Cooper of Doughty Street Chambers urged the British Irish Commercial Bar Association (BICBA) to cancel an upcoming conference with Dubai's with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) following allegations of corruption and malpractice. BICBA later cancelled their event.

Cases and Clients

Cat Le-Huy:

Endemol's head of technology, German national Cat Le-Huy was arrested in Dubai in January 2008. Le-Huy was a colleague of Radha Stirling's who also worked with the production house. Le-Huy was detained for carrying melatonin, a jet lag remedy but was later accused of having microscopic traces of hashish in the dust in his bag. Authorities claimed the amount was 0.03g. Stirling founded Detained in Dubai to lobby for Le-Huy and he was freed without charge after a seven week long campaign.

Matt Joyce, Marcus Lee and Angus Reed

Executives Joyce and Lee were detained for years over fraud allegations related to a Dubai Waterfront land sale. Stirling lobbied for their release. Billionaire Angus Reed was in Australia but faced potential extradition. As part of the campaign to secure Joyce and Lee, Stirling ensured that Reed was also protected from extradition. Stirling successfully lobbied Parliament in Canberra to include human rights safeguards in the extradition treaty they intended to sign with the UAE. The allegations against her clients were later disproved.

Safi Qurashi

British property tycoon hailed as one of Dubai's most successful entrepreneurs after buying a £43m island in the shape of Great Britain has been jailed for seven years for bouncing cheques and withholding payments.

Stirling campaigned for his release, arguing that the circumstances surrounding bounced cheques in the UAE are not taken into account and could leave the system open to abuse.  Stirling organised a large protest in front of the UAE embassy and spoke with the BBC and Al Jazeera.  Qurashi was cleared of the charges and his partner ordered to pay him AED40m.

Christopher Renehan

During the 2009 financial crash, the government of Dubai defaulted on payments to Irishman, Renehan’s company, which caused his cheques to suppliers to bounce.  Renehan was sentenced to six years in prison.  During this time, he led a hunger strike with 70 other inmates to protest against legal abuse.  During the strike, he said “I fully understand the serious implications of this action. I demand that the Dubai government-owned entities pay the dues owed to my company so that we can resettle our debts and repatriate our staff.”  Stirling lobbied for Renehan’s release and joined in the prisoner’s hunger strike herself. Stirling spoke to the John Murray Show about Renehan’s incarceration and the bounced cheque laws in Dubai. Renehan has since been freed.

Atif Khalique

British father was held in the UAE while on holiday after £420,000 debt was accued in his name by scammers when he applied for a Dubai job. “I thought that United Arab Emirates was a civilised place like the UK but I’ve discovered that isn’t the case. There is a very dark side,” he told inews. Stirling lobbied for his freedom, adding “How can anyone have confidence in the UAE as a destination for expat professionals, when a job application can turn into identity theft, and the victim himself is prosecuted?” Stirling urged the FCO to get involved and Dubai authorities to expedite his return. Khalique told Detained in Dubai he realised he had fallen victim to identity theft when Coyle White Devine were hired by a Dubai bank to seize his assets in a UK court.

Pancho Campo

Former olympic tennis player Pancho Campo was listed on Interpol's Red Notice database in 2005 from a business dispute in 2002. Campo told the Mail Online "The Dubai authorities have used Interpol as their private debt collection agency. My name should never have been on their list". Stirling, who lobbied for Campo's red notice removal, said "The United Arab Emirates habitually abuses the Interpol system for reporting civil and commercial cases as 'fraud'. Pancho should never have been listed by Interpol in the first place."

Peter Margetts

Peter Margetts, a property developer from Kew, west London, was jailed after a series of post-dated cheques bounced when a waterfront venture failed in 2008. Margetts was sentenced to more than 20 years in prison. Margetts said from prison “I’ve lost hope. I’m here for longer than some people get for murder, rape and really heinous crimes.” before going on hunger strike and suffering a stroke. Stirling lobbied for Margetts release, saying “I’m extremely saddened that what is effectively a civil matter was treated criminally and has led to Peter’s stroke. The pressure of being imprisoned for something so trivial as a bounced cheque and the stress induced from being away from his family has caused such a tremendous reaction.” Stirling spoke with Monacle 24 Radio in London about Margetts hunger strike. When Margetts was released, he wrong a book entitled When's Daddy Coming Home? where he describes dodging 'violent drug barons, rapists and mafia bosses – all because a cheque bounced'.

Activism

Stirling has published articles and videos extensively on social media social media laws, cybercrime laws and Interpol red notice abuse. She has publicly campaigned for the release of people detained in the UAE, notably Jamie Harron, Ellie Holman, Billy Barclay, Johnson George, Richard Lau, Matthew Hedges, David Haigh, Matt Joyce and Marcus Lee, Safi Qurashi, Scott Richards, Conrad Cliteroe, Gary Cooper and Farzan Atharii.

Sheikha Latifa bin al Maktoum, daughter of the ruler of Dubai, instructed Stirling's assistance during her attempted escape. Toby Cadman of Guernica International Justice Chambers brought the princess's case to the United Nations, following her reported abduction from US flagged yacht Nostromo in March 2018. Stirling provided testimony before the United Nations Working Group on Enforced and Involuntary Disappearances and has worked closely with Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International to seek Sheikha Latifa's freedom. Stirling was featured on 60 Minutes and BBC documentary “Escape from Dubai” which showcased Latifa's escape and subsequent abduction by UAE and Indian military forces.

Stirling spoke at a Frontiers of Freedom conference in Washington DC, in November 2018, on a dais with speakers that included Senator Rand Paul. She presented information on a variety of Middle East issues, including reports of increased aggression and lawlessness on the part of America's gulf allies. She suggested that relationships and policies needed to be reviewed in order to ensure security and safety for the United States and its Western allies.

Controversies

Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum

In December 2018, Helene Jaubert, the American ex-wife of former French Navy officer Hervé Jaubert told American news website The Daily Beast that Hervé Jaubert and Stirling had been in contact with princess Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum (II) for 5 years and invented the whole disappearance scheme together. According to Helene, “The whole plan was for Herve to help her escape and once he got her out the daughter was going to get to the dad and say I want $3 million or else I’ll tell all to the media”. According to Helene, "It was a con. It’s a corrupt scheme gone haywire". According to Stirling, Latifa phoned her from the boat in the middle of the ambush, saying she feared for her life and “was hearing gunshots.” According to Stirling, Latifa made the call via WhatsApp and evidence of the call was provided to authorities in the US and UK and made available to reporters, although The Daily Beast pointed out that a satellite phone is normally needed to call from their alleged location in the Indian Ocean.

On 24 December 2018, Mary Therese Winifred Robinson, former President of Ireland and former Ambassador for the United Nations, announced that she had met with Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum (II) in the company of Princess Haya bint Hussein, a wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. In her statement and interviews, Mary Robinson claimed that Sheikha Latifa was a "troubled" individual and was in the loving care of her family. Robinson's statements were criticized by Stirling for being too similar to Dubai's official accounts of the story.

Alcohol in Dubai

In August 2018, Radha Stirling stated that "the UAE maintains a deliberately misleading facade that alcohol consumption is perfectly legal for visitors" after Swedish-Iranian national Ellie Holman, whom she represented, was allegedly arrested for drinking one complimentary glass of wine aboard Emirates flight from London to Dubai. She said “They will offer you alcohol on their airline, and arrest you at the airport for accepting it. This can only be regarded as such a deliberate attempt to misrepresent UAE rules on alcohol that it amounts to entrapment." Emirates released a statement clarifying that alcohol consumption is not prohibited on their flights and alcohol is served in the lounges in Dubai International Airport and available for purchase in the duty-free area of the airport. A statement from attorney General of Dubai was released detailing that Holman attempted to enter Dubai using an expired Swedish passport and was held for less than 24 hours and then deported due to profanity and photographing a government official in a restricted area after she was informed that she needed to buy a short term visa. Holman who was born in Iran, grew up in Sweden and had lived in the UK for almost 20 years, used her fiancé's surname but the name on her passport was Elham Reza Reza Sateei. She later said that she was held due to a "visa mistake" in an article. The story was criticized for being "fake news".

External links

• Official website