British parliamentarians have written to Foreign Secretary David Lammy, urging him to impose sanctions on UAE officials due to the detention of British citizen Ryan Cornelius for 16 years under "dubious" charges.
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03-20, 2025Ryan Cornelius, 70, was convicted in 2011 along with three other expatriates of defrauding Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) and remains in detention. His sentence, which was originally scheduled to end in 2018, was extended by 20 years by a judge following an application from Dubai Islamic Bank.
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled in 2022 that Cornelius's detention was arbitrary and violated international law. The letter sent to Lammy last week was signed by parliamentarians including former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith and Labour peer Baroness Helena Kennedy, urging the government to take "immediate and decisive action, including the imposition of Magnitsky sanctions against those responsible for Cornelius's continued imprisonment."
Magnitsky sanctions target individuals responsible for corruption or human rights abuses. This would bar Mohammed Al Shaibani, chairman of Dubai Islamic Bank, who is also the director-general of the Ruler’s Court of Dubai (a UAE government body), from entering the UK. Dubai Islamic Bank stated that it has acted "appropriately" and "at all times in accordance with applicable law."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is trying to strengthen the UK's diplomatic relations with Gulf states and seek new investment from their sovereign wealth funds. However, it is understood that relations between the UK and the UAE are strained due to the UAE's role in Sudan, where it has provided weapons and other supplies to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a war that began in April 2023 and has led to the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Both Starmer and Lammy have visited the UAE since Labour took office. The Foreign Office told the Financial Times that Lammy discussed Cornelius's case with the UAE Foreign Minister last December.
