DUBAI // The lawyer for two Britons arrested on grounds of national security in Fujairah is confident the plane-spotting hobbyists will be released on a reduced charge after the authorities complete their investigations.
Lawyer Naseer Hashem met Conrad Clitheroe, 54, and Gary Cooper, 45, on Thursday at an Abu Dhabi police station, 11 days after their arrest near Fujairah airport on February 22 for taking notes and observing planes.
“The case is still being investigated, but we are hopeful it will be moved from national security to a lesser crime once authorities realise that they were not spying but just practising a hobby,” Mr Hashem said.
“In this hobby, people try to get information about flags, signs, numbers and designs on planes but in many countries there is not much knowledge about it.
“Yes, they should have been better informed about the laws of this country but they had no intention to carry out a crime,” Mr Hashem said.
Mr Clitheroe and Mr Cooper were transferred from a jail in Fujairah to Abu Dhabi along with their friend Neil Munro, a Dubai resident, on Thursday
Mr Munro is being represented by another lawyer.
rtalwar@thenational.ae