John Murphy, 59, was arrested in the United Arab Emirates over allegations of being offensive to hotel staff and was later cleared – but he has not been able to leave the country
A grandad says he “hasn’t eaten for four days” after being left homeless and trapped in Dubai by the legal system over a crime he was acquitted of 10 years ago.
John Murphy, 59, who served in the British military before building a life in the UAE, was arrested a decade ago over allegations of being offensive to hotel security. His lawyers say he should have walked free but he was jailed awaiting trial, and his landlord sued him for rent arrears that piled up during his detention.
His belongings were seized, a travel ban imposed, and his passport withheld which has meant for nearly 10 years he has been trapped in Dubai, unable to work, unable to leave, and now ”literally starving”, lawyers say.
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The travel ban has never been lifted and for 10 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,” Mr 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 surviving on public transport, caught between a rock and a hard place — unable to leave, unable to work, unable to resolve his debts.
“This is outrageous,” said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai. “John was found innocent, yet 10 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 launched a GoFundMe page and appealed directly to both the British and Irish embassies for help. To date, neither has secured his release.
“The Trump administration successfully repatriated a number of American citizens from the UAE,” Mr 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.”
The Mirror has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.