A Scottish construction engineer who has been held in jail in Iraq for the last two months will be reunited with his family tomorrow. Brian Glendinning, 43, will fly into Edinburgh Airport at about 5.25pm and will be greeted by his loved ones, following his lengthy ordeal.
The father-of-three, from Kincardine in Fife, was arrested on an Interpol Red Notice when he arrived at Baghdad airport to work in Iraq on September 12, over an alleged debt owed to the Qatar National Bank.
Last week, the bank issued a clearance note stamped by Qatar authorities saying they no longer wanted Brian extradited, but it was not immediately communicated to the Iraqi authorities, leaving him trapped in the prison for a few more days. With the message now confirmed, the dad will be back home by tomorrow night.
Radha Stirling, founder of the Interpol and Extradition Reform (Ipex) initiative, the organisation which has been campaigning for Brian's release, said he was "relieved and excited" to be coming home.
"Brian will be flying out from Iraq tonight," she said. "He is relieved and excited to be coming home, and will be met at the airport in an emotional reunion. After intense diplomatic efforts, Brian will make it home before the World Cup, but this is hardly a victory when this should never have happened.
"He was wrongfully detained on the basis of a Qatar National Bank-issued Interpol Red Notice which violated Interpol's charter. The excruciating resulting trauma has not been compensated.
"Qatar has issued no apology and nor have they been penalised by Interpol. In fact, Qatar has been rewarded for abusing Interpol's Red Notice system. The British government can do more to prevent the wrongful arrest of citizens abroad."
Ms Stirling said Qatar had not confirmed if the Interpol Red Notice had been removed, so there could still be a risk that Brian could be arrested on his way back to Scotland.
Ms Stirling also revealed that Brian was joining a class-action lawsuit will to be launched against Interpol for what Ipex says is "consistent and repetitive" abuse of power. The campaigner said Brian was now free due to a "combination of lobbying and media efforts".
Brian's brother John said he had lived in "vile" conditions in the Iraqi prison, adding: "Brian's beard has grown. There was only a single communal shaver in the jail and he wasn't going to use that. He's in the hotel. I've seen a photo of him with a beer and I'm so happy he's free.
"It was really emotional for the family. Even our father teared up and he never cries. Kimberly [Brian's partner], the children, they can breathe again. Now it's just hours until they are together."
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