Locked up for love in UAE
Couple imprisoned due to pregnancy
FIVE weeks ago Emlyn Culverwell, 29, and his fiancée, 27-year-old Iryna Nohai, were arrested in an Abu Dhabi hospital when the doctor revealed Nohai’s pregnancy.
Being unmarried, the couple had transgressed the United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) morality laws.
After completing school at Harvest in Port Elizabeth, Culverwell lived in Port Alfred for several years and was an active NSRI member before he moved to the UAE to work as a water rescue operative at Yas Waterworld.
Culverwell was happy in his job, never getting into any trouble. His mother, Linda Culverwell, traumatised over her son’s jailing, said he did not drink or smoke and was an active and healthoriented man by nature.
It was in Abu Dhabi that he met Nohai, a Ukrainian national who worked as an administration officer, and the couple started their courtship.
On January 29, the couple’s world shattered when Nohai complained of stomach cramps. Being concerned for his fiancée’s wellbeing, Culverwell took her to the Medeor Medical Centre in Yas Mall for a check-up. It was then that the doctor broke the news that Nohai was pregnant.
Knowing the implications in a Muslim country, Culverwell called his employer who arrived at the hospital the same time as the UAE authorities. The couple were arrested when they could not provide a marriage certificate.
They were taken to the Yas Mall police station and then later to Al Wathba Prison.
Under the perspective of Sharia law, Nohai is guilty of “Zina”, an Islamic term for extramarital sex. People found guilty can be flogged and locked up for months to years under the Sharia-based legal system.
Since their arrest no one, including employers and family members, has been able to make contact with the couple.
Linda, who has gleaned information from her son’s colleagues, said the couple appeared before a judge once but were denied bail or any state-appointed legal representation and were not charged.
The couple requested to be married in prison, but the same judge denied the request.
According to UAE laws, couples who finds themselves imprisoned and guilty of Zina, are either married in prison or deported immediately.
Ongoing attempts have been made by Linda and her family to work through the South African embassy to support Culverwell and Nohai. The cost to hire a privately appointed attorney would run up to R18 000 per person for once-off representation.
A Christian Church in Yas is willing to marry the couple, at a substantial fee, but the same judge refused.
“Our embassy is not doing enough. We hear nothing back from them, phone calls go unanswered, vague
responses are given and even the emergency numbers don’t work,” Linda said.
The traumatised mother had a breakdown and was admitted to a hospital for observation.
“I feel sick, I have been vomiting from stress,” she said.
“We have tried going through the consulate. The woman said she was going to see Emlyn after the second week of his arrest, but never gave feedback. We have tried Amnesty International, the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Human Rights Commission, but we are nowhere closer to having word of them,” Linda said.
She said she only wanted to know “the state of their health, the state of the other inmates and if Iryna is still pregnant”.
She said she had lost her cool when a woman, identified only as Tina from the Pretoria office for the Department of Foreign Affairs, said she must “just” be patient.
In the meantime, a colleague at Yas Waterworld received word that part of the reason why the couple hasn’t been charged or allowed to marry is that Nohai is still undergoing tests.
Linda said these supposed tests were to determine the paternity of the baby, to determine HIV status as well as to see how long Noahi had been sexually active.
“I find it so degrading. I have worked my whole life in the medical field and I know there is no such test. The poor girl gave no consent for this. She must feel so violated, she must feel raped,” Linda said.
Some hope arrived on Tuesday when a colleague gave word that she would be able to visit Nohai on Sunday.
For now, Linda tries to find some comfort sharing any news and updates in broken communication with Nohai’s parents. “At least the Ukraine Embassy is trying hard to intervene and is pushing for them to get married,” Linda said.
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Foreign Affairs) had failed to respond to questions at the time of going to print.