Jim Fitton, left, and Volker Waldmann are escorted by Iraqi security forces outside a courtroom in Baghdad. AP
Jim Fitton, left, and Volker Waldmann are escorted by Iraqi security forces outside a courtroom in Baghdad. AP
Jim Fitton, left, and Volker Waldmann are escorted by Iraqi security forces outside a courtroom in Baghdad. AP
Jim Fitton, left, and Volker Waldmann are escorted by Iraqi security forces outside a courtroom in Baghdad. AP

Geologist Jim Fitton moved to Iraqi prison with ISIS inmates, say family


Paul Carey
  • English
  • Arabic

A British geologist jailed in Iraq has been moved to the general prison population before his appeal has been heard, his family said.

Jim Fitton's family are worried for the 66-year-old's safety and fear he could be placed alongside ISIS inmates, as well as others who could be hostile to a British citizen.

UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has faced demands to “intervene at the highest level”.

Fitton was sentenced to 15 years in prison for smuggling antiquities he picked up during a guided tour of an ancient site in the country.

He is set to be moved from an airport detention cell to a prison several days earlier than expected, his family said.

An appeal is being prepared by Fitton’s legal team and they continue to argue he had no intention of smuggling the items.

Fitton collected 12 stones and shards of broken pottery as souvenirs while visiting a site in Eridu, south-eastern Iraq, as part of an organised geology and archaeology tour.

The items were found in the possession of Fitton and German tourist Volker Waldmann, who has since been cleared of wrongdoing, as their group prepared to fly out of Baghdad airport on March 20.

Their tour guide, 85-year-old Geoff Hann, who was a champion of Iraq's ancient culture, died under police guard.

Fitton missed his daughter Leila's wedding while he was awaiting sentence. She gave a tearful interview after his trial during which she spoke about their first conversation after the verdict.

Liberal Democrat MP Wera Hobhouse, who represents Fitton’s family in Bath, said his move to a prison was "very concerning, so soon after Jim’s sentencing" and before an appeal was heard.

“I know Jim’s family must be worried sick and I am thinking of them and Jim today, as ever. The foreign secretary must now do what is right and intervene at the highest level," Ms Hobhouse said.

Fitton’s son-in-law. Sam Tasker, 27, said of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: “The idea that they have basically abandoned Jim to his fate and are just sort of managing us as if we’re a problem to be solved rather than working with us to save the life of a British man in trouble abroad is just unbelievable, it blows me away.

“There’s no urgency about them whatsoever.”

He said the family hoped the appeal would enable the evidence to be reviewed and his father-in-law would be released.

Mr Tasker, who is married to Leila, 31, told PA: “We keep staying positive about things and things keep getting worse. Every few days something gets worse so it’s really, really hard to think positively about the appeal.

“We’re doing everything we can to push the appeal forward.”

He said it was initially expected that Fitton would be transferred to a general population prison next week, and it is unclear what contact they can have with him while he is held there.

“A general population prison in Iraq, there’ll be former Daesh members in there, there will be extremists, people who have been arrested from militia groups, fundamentalists, there’ll be people who fought against the British and American troops in the Iraq war," he said.

“All of these people are not going to take kindly to an elderly white British man, notwithstanding the treatment he’ll get from guards, prison officials and the general treatment of prisoners in Iraq – which I understand leaves a lot to be desired – but particularly from the inmates in the prison. We’re absolutely terrified about him being exposed to that.

“If the Foreign Office’s aim all along was just to avoid a death sentence, they shouldn’t be patting themselves on the back because he’s a 66-year-old man sentenced to 15 years in an Iraqi jail.

“If by some miracle he gets out of there, he’ll be 81 years old.”

Fitton, who lives in Malaysia with his wife Sarijah, spent the rest of a three to four-minute phone call with his family trying to make arrangements for them.

Ms Hobhouse said the lack of contact between a UK minister and the family was “nothing short of a disgrace”.

“The way this situation has unfolded has been absolutely shocking," she said.

"The Foreign Office has refused to intervene for months now. It is simply not fair on Jim or his family and sets a devastating precedent for British citizens in trouble abroad.

“Jim is not a criminal. He is a 66-year-old geologist who has been deserted by the British government.”

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

'Nightmare Alley'

Director:Guillermo del Toro

Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara

Rating: 3/5

Brief scoreline:

Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first

England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66

South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12

Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The five new places of worship

Church of South Indian Parish

St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch

St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch

St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais

Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais

 

RESULTS

5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (Turf) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).

5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami.

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Foah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel.

6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Faiza, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: RB Dixie Honor, Antonio Fresu, Helal Al Alawi.

7.30pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 100,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Boerhan, Ryan Curatolo, Nicholas Bachalard.

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

MATCH INFO

Manchester United 1 (Rashford 36')

Liverpool 1 (Lallana 84')

Man of the match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)

While you're here
Sheikh Zayed's poem

When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.

Your love is ruling over my heart

Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it

Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home

You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness

Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins

You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge

You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm

Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you

You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it

Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by. 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
THE%20SWIMMERS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESally%20El-Hosaini%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENathalie%20Issa%2C%20Manal%20Issa%2C%20Ahmed%20Malek%20and%20Ali%20Suliman%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%20profile%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EElggo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20August%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Luma%20Makari%20and%20Mirna%20Mneimneh%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Education%20technology%20%2F%20health%20technology%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESize%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Four%20employees%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Abaya trends

The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.

Updated: June 09, 2022, 12:13 PM`