Outrage as British man is held in Dubai and thrown in prison without charge for sharing Facebook post urging people to buy blankets for migrants
Father of two Scott Richards only gets to see sunlight 10 minutes a week while being held in Dubai
A BRITISH man has been detained for three weeks in Dubai for sharing a charity Facebook post.
Father of two Scott Richards shared the post which promoted a charity drive to buy blankets and other items for refugees in Afghanistan.
The 42-year-old was arrested under strict new laws in the United Arab Emirates that ban donations or advertising of charities not registered in the country.
Dubai authorities confirmed he had recommended a crowd-funding campaign, Warm Up Qambar Camp.
The campaign, run by the Kabul-based Zwan Family charity, asks for people to support the 9000 refugees forced to live through the freezing winter conditions at the camp.
Richards' desperate family have now called for his release with his mother Penelope Haberfield saying her son was a volunteer and not fundraising.
She said: "It's the indefinite detention, it can go on for months, years."
and make limited phonecalls.
She said: "It's not nice. They only get 10 minutes of sunshine once a week.
"As his mother I'm not prepared to give up."
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The father-of-two had been working in Dubai as an economic development consultant.
A petition has since been circulated with Richards' supporters saying he had been denied bail on three separate occasions.
It says the young father would soon be spending his upcoming wedding anniversary in prison, separated from his family.
Detained in Dubai chief executive Radha Stirling said that under the country's judicial system, Mr Richards could be held indefinitely.
She said: "It can be months before he is officially charged and a court date will only be assigned once they agree to prosecute."
Detained in Dubai, which helps foreigners abroad, released a statement saying the father was being kept in "appalling conditions" in the Al Murraqabat police station and had made a request to be transferred to a prison.
The statement said: "He has not been able to meet with his legal representative and has very limited access to telephone.
"We do not expect that there will be any change to his detention and the Prosecuting Judge can, if he chooses, grant further extensions to his detention."
Richards now faces up to one year in prison and a fine of 100,000 dihams, about £20,000.
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