UK football fan held in United Arab Emirates 'for wearing Qatar shirt to match'

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A British man has been detained in the United Arab Emirates and could face a fine of over Dh500,000 (£105,000), reportedly for wearing a Qatar national football team shirt.

Ali Issa Ahmad, 26, was on holiday in the UAE and went to an Asian Cup match between Qatar and Iraq on 22 January.

Mr Ahmad was allegedly arrested and beaten after being accused of wearing a shirt which promoted Qatar, The Guardian reported.

A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: “We are providing assistance to a British man arrested in the UAE, and are in touch with the local authorities.”

In its travel advice for the UAE, the Foreign Office notes: “The UAE authorities announced on 7 June 2017 that showing sympathy for Qatar on social media or by any other means of communication is an offence. Offenders could be imprisoned and subject to a substantial fine.”

The announcement followed a diplomatic spat between the two Middle Eastern states, which saw the UAE accuse Qatar of funding terrorism.

In its advice for travellers, the Foreign Office adds: “Laws and customs are very different to those in the UK. You should respect local traditions, customs, laws and religions at all times. There may be serious penalties for doing something that might not be illegal in the UK.”

Mr Ahmad was allowed a phone call on 31 January and called his friend Amer Lokie, who said the alleged arrest was “just unspeakable”.

Mr Lokie said Mr Ahmad, who he described as ”a kind and quiet guy” who “always tries to help others”, had told him he was being held in Sharjah.

He said his friend “couldn’t say much” as UAE officials were sat nearby, and added: “He wasn’t given very long to speak to me and I’m not exactly sure what happened.

Mr Ahmad also said he was held in a small room for at least two days, Mr Lokie added. “He didn’t sound good when he spoke to me on the phone.”

Radha Stirling, head of the UK-based group Detained in Dubai, said in a statement: “It is outrageous that the UAE would politicise football to the point that a foreign fan with no political or ideological allegiances in the ongoing regional dispute would be arrested for literally nothing more than wearing a shirt for the ‘wrong’ team.”

She said the British citizen was “being victimised merely to send a signal to Qatar in the run-up to the World Cup”.

“This is a gross violation of his rights, and the only signal it sends to the international community is that the UAE is an unsafe destination,” Ms Stirling added.

She called on foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt to demand Mr Ahmad’s immediate release and “to oblige the UAE to guarantee the safety of British citizens in the UAE from wrongful arrest”. She said Detained in Dubai had repeatedly asked the Foreign Office to increase its travel warnings to British citizens considering travelling to the UAE.

“Foreigners are more likely to be arrested in the Emirates than in any other destination, and once entangled in the legal system, there is a high probability of suffering human rights abuses,” she said. ”For this reason, the High Court of England has refused extradition to the UAE, yet tourists continue to be largely unaware of the dangers.”

The UAE’s UK embassy strongly denied Mr Ahmad was arrested because he was wearing a Qatar football shirt.

The London embassy said he had gone to a police station claiming to have been assaulted by fans of the UAE’s national team.

However, a doctor judged his injuries appeared to have been self-inflicted, the embassy said.

In a statement, it said he ”categorically not arrested for wearing a Qatar football shirt”.

“We understand from the authorities in Sharjah emirate that Mr Issa Ahmad, a dual Sudanese-British citizen, presented himself to the police station there in January claiming he had been harassed and beaten up by UAE national football fans for cheering the Qatar team at the AFC Club tournament.

“The police took him to hospital where a doctor who examined him concluded that his injuries were inconsistent with his account of events and appeared to be self-inflicted.”

The embassy said Mr Ahmad was charged with wasting police time and making false statements on 24 January.

“We are advised he has since admitted those offences and will now be processed through UAE courts,” the embassy said.

It went on to say ”due process has been followed” and Mr Ahmad, an Arabic speaker, “fully understands the situation he has put himself in”.

It comes months after a British academic was arrested in the UAE and charged with spying.

Matthew Hedges received a presidential pardon and returned to the UK in November after more than six months in detention.