British politicians and the family of jailed businessman Ryan Cornelius, imprisoned in a Dubai jail for the last 16 years, are pleading with Sir Keir Starmer to fight for the property developer’s freedom as he visits the United Arab Emirates for trade talks.
The father-of-three, 70, has spent his children’s lives languishing in prison over an alleged £370m fraud. The UAE says he illegally obtained a loan from the government-affiliated Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) by bribing staff members, but the United Nations says the charge of fraud is unjust. Mr Cornelius accuses the DIB, which is chaired by a senior, non-royal government official, of being his “effective jailers”.
