News - Middle East: The UAE violates rights of foreign expatriates, they suffer from a blatant disregard for their basic rights, The British newspaper The Guardian wrote in a report, mentioning the story of a British businessman, Ryan Cornelius. 

It said that the UN officials have called on the United Arab Emirates to immediately release a British businessman who has been detained in the country since 2008.

The UN’s working group on arbitrary detention has ruled that Ryan Cornelius has been held arbitrarily in the UAE since 2008 when he was arrested at Dubai airport. He has contracted tuberculosis while in detention.

The UN working group has condemned the fundamental rights violations inflicted by the UAE authorities on Cornelius and is calling for his immediate release, with reparations paid for his suffering, in line with international law. It has demanded that the UAE opens an investigation into Cornelius’s detention.

Cornelius was arrested and detained following complicated business dealings involving powerful Emirati individuals.

Ryan’s legal representative, Rhys Davies, said: “The mistreatment that Ryan has been subjected to by the authorities in the UAE shows a flagrant disregard for fundamental human rights. The FCDO cannot continue to ignore its duty to defend the rights of British citizens abroad. Mr Cornelius has been held arbitrarily for far too long and needs to be brought home to his family immediately.”