A Dubai resident has spoken of his relief after returning home to his family, almost a year after being detained and prevented from leaving Iraq.
Thomas Simpson, 61, was arrested at Basra International Airport last July, after flying in for work.
He still does not fully understand what he stood accused of, although he knows it related to a job he had in the country two years ago.
Despite attempts to unravel the issue, Mr Simpson is still unclear if he was ever formally charged with an offence.
To meet my kids at the airport was just indescribable. We just held each other so tightly for so long
Thomas Simpson
But he was cleared of any wrongdoing by a court in Erbil. He was finally allowed to leave on July 3 after a no-fly order was removed. In a statement to The National, British authorities said they were aware of his case and had been in contact with Mr Simpson.
The court ruling allowed the Scot to fly into Dubai, where he was reunited with his partner Esme, and children Jamie, 16, and Kane, 13.
The moment the plane took off from Erbil was the “most wonderful feeling”, said Mr Simpson, who has lived in Dubai for 13 years.
“Then to meet my kids at the airport was just indescribable. We just held each other so tightly for so long. And we all sobbed and came home together and it was just the best feeling,” he said.
Mr Simpson spent three "miserable" days in solitary confinement, after being arrested at the airport last July, before his current employer arranged for a lawyer to get him out of prison.
He was able to return to his company's worksite, south of Basra.
“I had to remain there for the next 11 months because I couldn't fly. I couldn’t leave. But at least I was working and earning. And I wasn't in jail anymore,” he said.
Mr Simpson said he understands his arrest related to a joint venture, an oil storage operation involving a Lebanese and local Kurdish company, from 2018 to 2019, which soured.
He worked as the general manager of the site at the time.
His employer, the Lebanese company, eventually pulled out, after which Mr Simpson was “marched off-site by machine gunpoint”.
That was the last he heard of it, until he was arrested in Basra last July.
“I understand the local Kurdish half thought I must have been involved in the dissolution of the joint venture. I wasn’t,” he said.
“I was just there on a purely operational basis to run the facility. That was the most terrifying part of it. It was like, hang on, what have I done wrong? What’s the charge? I still have no idea what the charge was.”
Mr Simpson, who went through four lawyers before finding one who was able to help him, was eventually summoned to Erbil by a judge.
“My colleagues, some of whom are quite connected, arranged for me to be driven to Erbil from Basra," he said.
“They then engaged a security guy who was pretty high up in Basra and he got me through the checkpoints just with his own clout. Because this is how Iraq works,” he said.
The process was supposed to take days, but stretched to weeks, as he gave testimony and was referred to various government departments, including police, immigration and other agencies to help clear his name.
“You get a bit of paper off one guy, then you have to proceed to the next stage,” he said.
“There is no system which says Tom is good to go for the next stage. So that five or six days turned into seven weeks that I spent in a hotel in Erbil.”
He tried to leave the country in late May, but was refused, as the system had not yet been updated to show he had been cleared at that stage.
The UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it had been in contact with Mr Simpson.
“Our staff were in contact with a British man following his arrest and travel ban in Iraq,” said an FCDO spokesman.
Mr Simpson said he has been in touch with the wife of Robert Pether, an Australian who has been held without charge for 90 days.
“Tom has was in touch to offer help and provide some advice because he knows what we are going through,” said Desree Pether.
“Tom’s had a similar experience to what my husband is going through right now.”
Mr Pether, an engineer, was arrested along with a colleague when he attended what he thought was a routine business meeting with his employer’s client, the Central Bank of Iraq.
He has remained in custody for 90 days over a contract dispute, without being charged with any offence.
His wife said she was hopeful his case would be heard by the civil court in the near future.
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
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A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
ROUTE%20TO%20TITLE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%201%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Beat%20Leolia%20Jeanjean%206-1%2C%206-2%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%202%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Naomi%20Osaka%207-6%2C%201-6%2C%207-5%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%203%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Marie%20Bouzkova%206-4%2C%206-2%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERound%204%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Beat%20Anastasia%20Potapova%206-0%2C%206-0%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-final%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Marketa%20Vondrousova%206-0%2C%206-2%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-final%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBeat%20Coco%20Gauff%206-2%2C%206-4%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Beat%20Jasmine%20Paolini%206-2%2C%206-2%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
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