Grandfather wins legal fight against extradition to the UAE

A SCOTTISH businessman who fled the Middle East with his daughter to escape her ‘abusive’ husband has won his fight against extradition over fears he would be tortured.

Garnet Black was sentenced to 12 months in jail after a court in Dubai convicted him in absentia of embezzling £250,000 from his employer.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirates had requested the return of the 64-year-old from Scotland.

Mr Black denies the charges, brought by his former son-inlaw Saeed Al Mehri. He said he only became aware of them when police arrested him at his home in Lesmahagow, Lanarkshire, in 2013.

But after a four-year extradition battle, Edinburgh Sheriff Court ruled yesterday that sending him to the UAE would breach his human rights.

Mr Black lived in the United Arab Emirates from 2006-2010.

‘I would have been tortured’

He had a senior position with a freight distribution firm and appointed his son-in-law as a local representative.

But Mr Al Mehri began drinking heavily and acting abusively, according to a court report. Mr Black’s daughter then decided to leave the UAE permanently with their eight-year-old daughter and return to Scotland.

The court heard that in an attempt to force his wife and child back to the Emirates, Mr Al Mehri, allegedly fabricated the charge against the Scot.

Mr Black, who now works as a bus driver, branded the claim ‘laughable’ and a ‘total joke’.

The UAE reported the case to Interpol in 2013 and had been seeking extradition ever since.

Yesterday Mr Black said: ‘I’m feeling great and very relieved. It was a very strong judgment against the extradition.

‘It’s just been hearing after hearing, I think I have had 20 or more, plus eight full days of court – it’s been exhausting.’

The grandfather-of-one, who suffers from heart disease, added: ‘This has been a very scary experience for my family. I have no doubt that I would have been tortured.’