A Brit grandad is being detained in Dubai after making a noise complaint while on holiday.
OAP Ian Mackeller has been accused of trespass and is facing several years in prison and a travel ban, according to a UAE legal expert.
The 75-year-old was visiting his daughter and grandchildren for Christmas, alongside his wife, after his daughter’s recent move there.
But it turned into a nightmare trip after he allegedly complained of the noise levels at a neighbour’s New Year’s Eve party.
Ian, of near Aberdeen, Scotland was looking after his 18-month-old grandchild at the time.
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The family had allegedly asked the neighbour to be mindful of noise.
But after finding it impossible to sleep, they reportedly text the neighbour to turn the music down – and say it instead became louder.
As his daughter needed to get up at 5.30 am for work, Ian says he went next door and asked that the partygoers go inside.
According to a report by Detained in Dubai, he was met with an “unexpected” response, with partygoers “pushing, shouting and filming him.”
Some of the guests reportedly tried to diffuse the situation, and suggested Ian leave – which he did.
However, he claims that the host then ran up to him “screaming” and “threw a drink over the baby.”
The grandfather allegedly told her he would report this to the police, but his daughter dissuaded him from doing so.
But the family was stunned when the neighbour filed a report of their own, accusing him of “trespass”.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, said: “It is standard practice in Dubai to pre-emptively file a police report when at risk of being reported.
“The prosecution tends to side with whoever makes the first police report, so if someone is at risk of being reported themselves, they will quickly file against the actual victim.
“This is how people familiar with Dubai justice manipulate the system to their advantage.
“It is commonplace for foreigners in this situation to offer financial compensation to their accuser in order to drop the case.
“Authorities in Dubai need to crack down on this blatant abuse of the criminal justice system.
“The practice is systemic and will require significant legislative change to stamp it out completely.”
Stirling has reached out to Ian’s MP, Andrew Bowie, for assistance.
The family were due to return to Scotland on 10 January, but he now remains in the UAE indefinitely.
Stirling added: “This is a very sad situation.
“Nobody would ever imagine that a polite request to turn the music down would result in a travel ban and criminal prosecution.
“Again and again, we are reminded that a simple trip to Dubai can indeed be a one-way ticket.
“If the case isn’t dropped, Ian will likely end up in prisons notorious for human rights violations, and he simply doesn’t deserve it.”
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