This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23384555
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| British drug case trio 'pardoned in Dubai' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Three British men jailed for four years each for drug offences in Dubai earlier this year have been pardoned, legal rights charity Reprieve has said. | Three British men jailed for four years each for drug offences in Dubai earlier this year have been pardoned, legal rights charity Reprieve has said. |
| Londoners Suneet Jeerh, Grant Cameron and Karl Williams were found guilty of possessing synthetic cannabis in April. | Londoners Suneet Jeerh, Grant Cameron and Karl Williams were found guilty of possessing synthetic cannabis in April. |
| They claimed they were tortured by police following their arrest while on holiday in the Gulf state last July. | They claimed they were tortured by police following their arrest while on holiday in the Gulf state last July. |
| Mr Cameron's mother said he was already back in London. The other two men are expected to return to the UK soon. | Mr Cameron's mother said he was already back in London. The other two men are expected to return to the UK soon. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron raised the case with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed during his state visit to the UK earlier this year. | Prime Minister David Cameron raised the case with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed during his state visit to the UK earlier this year. |
| The three men, who denied charges, have been pardoned under a UAE amnesty for the holy month of Ramadan. | |
| They were arrested after police said they found a quantity of a drug known as "spice" in their car. | |
| They say they were subjected to torture by police - both in the desert, where they were initially taken after their arrest, and subsequently in hotel rooms - and that it included electric shocks and beatings. | |
| Police in Dubai have denied any wrongdoing and say an internal investigation into the torture allegations found no evidence to support the claims. | |
| Mr Cameron's mother, Tracy, speaking ahead of the trial verdict, told BBC News the men had been treated "appallingly" and were put through "a pretty terrifying ordeal" after they were arrested. | |
| "They were taken back to their hotel room, they were beaten in their hotel room, it does appear they were separated from each other and each taken to a different room," she said. | |
| "Karl was laid out on the bed, his trousers were stripped down and electric shocks were administered to his testicles while he was blindfolded. | |
| "I believe all boys had guns held to their head - they were told they were going to die. | |
| "Grant sustained electric shocks to his torso and I believe Suneet had shocks administered to him to the back of his head and his back." | |
| She said all the men were pressured into signing statements written in Arabic which they did not understand. |