Lawyers in the dock over torture threat
City firm trio ‘abused political prisoner in Gulf jail’
THree high-flying British lawyers working for a Gulf state threatened a ‘political prisoner’ with torture, according to papers filed in the High Court.
The trio are said to have used force or torture to threaten K aram al- Sadeq during interviews when he was in solitary confinement in the United Arab emirates.
One – neil Gerrard, a partner in the London office of US firm Dechert – allegedly carried out questioning as Mr al- Sadeq knelt on the floor blindfolded with his hands tied behind his back. He is said to have claimed he had a reputation for shoving his foot ‘up many a****’.
Mr al- Sadeq claims Gerrard and fellow solicitors Caroline Black and David Hughes conspired to abuse and torture him at the prison in ras al-Khaimah, one of the seven emirates that make up the U Ae. He is suing the trio and the law firm for human rights abuses.
The former executive at the ras al-Khaimah Investment Authority says he was kidnapped in Dubai in 2014 and then held in solitary for 560 days in inhumane conditions which amounted to torture.
In his High Court claim, he said he was told he would never be released unless he signed false confessions that he was involved in fraud.
The legal papers described one incident said to have when led Gerrard, the interrogations who is for the U Ae’s rulers, arrived to interview Mr al-Sadeq with his leg in a plaster cast and said it was because he had ‘shoved it up so many a****’. On another occasion, Gerrard and Hughes were said to have told Mr al-Sadeq: ‘We don’t have time for this. We have just come all the way from London… just sign the ****ing document.’ Mr Gerrard and Mr Hughes were also alleged to have told
Mr al- Sadeq his wife would be imprisoned unless he co -operated, and that neither of them would see their children again.
Mr al- Sadeq later signed confessions and remains in prison. His legal team say he has suffered ‘severe psychological and physical harm ’ and would seek compensation.
radha Stirling, from the pres - sure group Detained in Dubai, which represents Mr al- Sadeq, said it was the first time she had seen a claim against British lawyers for conspiracy to torture in the UAe.
Gerrard, Hughes and Black are said to have been ‘prepared to, and did, violate Mr al- Sadeq’s rights’.
This included ‘using threats and/ or mistreatment and/ or unlawful methods’.
All the lawyers worked for Dechert at the time, although Hughes now works for the City firm Stewarts Law. Dechert and the lawyers deny the claims and say they will vigorously defend themselves against them.
The civil claim continues.