A British veteran and grandfather arrested in Dubai remains trapped and homeless there – despite being cleared ten years ago. John Murphy, 59, who served in the British military before establishing a life in the UAE, was detained a decade ago over claims of being offensive to hotel security.
His solicitors say he should have walked free but he was imprisoned awaiting trial and his landlord pursued him for rent arrears that accumulated during his detention. His possessions were confiscated, a travel ban imposed, and his passport confiscated.
For nearly 10 years he has been stranded in Dubai, unable to work, unable to leave, and now ”literally starving”, solicitors say. The travel ban has never been lifted. For ten years, John has been unable to work, unable to leave, and trapped in an ”inescapable legal limbo”.
His legal contacts say he’s been forced to sleep on public transport and wash in shopping centre toilets. “I haven’t eaten in four days,” Murphy said in a message sent from Dubai.
“I’ve been on the streets for three weeks. I try to ride the metro all day to rest, but security chase me away. I wash in mall toilets, I’ve been in the same clothes for weeks, and my health is failing. I need urgent cancer treatment and dental care, but I have nowhere to turn.”
Although homelessness is illegal in the UAE, when John attempted to surrender to police, they refused to arrest him. He is now trapped in a cycle of poverty, surviving on public transport and unable to work or pay off his debts.
“This is outrageous,” declared Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai.
“John was found innocent, yet ten years later he is starving on the streets, denied cancer treatment, food, or shelter. This is the direct result of a system that criminalises debt and traps people in a cycle of poverty and despair. They won’t let him leave, and they won’t even arrest him. He is being left to die in plain sight.”
A friend of John’s has started a GoFundMe page and reached out directly to both the British and Irish embassies for assistance. So far, neither has managed to secure his release.
“The Trump administration successfully repatriated a number of American citizens from the UAE,” Stirling added.
“It is disappointing that Britain and Ireland have not stepped in to save John Murphy. He is a veteran, a grandfather, and he has already suffered enough. The Irish and British governments must act now.”
