A RETIRED Scots businessman has won his fight against extradition to the United Arab Emirates for helping his daughter escape her troubled marriage.
Gary Black was forced to flee the Gulf region to support his daughter, Sharon, 42, when her marriage to a local man became unbearable.
The grandfather, of Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire, left his life and business behind when he returned to Scotland.
Mr Black, who suffers from chronic asbestosis, has struggled to rebuild his life ever since.
He was accused of a “breach of trust” in the case brought by his former son-in-law, Saeed Al Mehri, 45, after Ms Black fled the marriage.
The case has been dragging on since 2013. Mr Black’s extradition is thought to be the first such case brought by the UAE in Scotland.
But the request was blocked at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday after Sheriff Thomas Welsh said the businessman could be tortured in the region.
The 64-year-old already faces a year-long prison sentence if he returns to the area.
Last month Stirling electrician Jamie Harron, 27, was sentenced to three months in a prison in Dubai after he accidentally touched another man’s knee in a crowded bar. Within days, Mr Harron was deported back to Scotland to be reunited with his family.
Following Sheriff Welsh’s ruling, Mr Black said: “It had gone on so long. There was so many times that we believed that we’d demonstrated that it was a farce.
“It’s been dragging on for four-and-a-half years.
“I’m relieved. I always had faith that no one would believe this nonsense. I was always confident.”
Mr Black had appointed his son-in-law as a local representative in his international logistics business in Dubai, to use his local influence to help with the company.
But Mr Al Mehri reportedly began drinking heavily and acting abusively.
Ms Black then decided to leave the UAE permanently with their eight-year-old daughter and return to Scotland.
In an attempt to force his wife and child back to the Emirates, Mr Al Mehri allegedly fabricated the breach of trust charges against Mr Black.
Mr Black, who moved back to Scotland in 2010 after five years in the UAE, said: “This has been a very scary experience for my family.
“In 2010, when I came back to Scotland, it was clear Saeed was very angry we had got out, but he still hoped and tried to reconcile his relationship with my daughter.
“In 2011, my daughter, against my better judgment, decided it was unfair for her to not allow her daughter to have a relationship with Saeed.
“So he came over here to Scotland to visit us, and then again in 2012.
“He became very anxious to get my granddaughter’s passport back to the UAE for renewal, and it was at that point Sharon told him Alya was a British citizen now.”
Mr Al Mehri accused Mr Black of stealing a share of the businesses, which Mr Black branded as “laughable” and a “complete fabrication”.
In other recent cases, David Ballantine, 46, of Edinburgh, was sentenced to 69 days in a Dubai jail over a £2 taxi fare mix-up. He was also deported.
Plasterer William Barclay, 31, of Edinburgh, was questioned for 12 hours by the authorities in Dubai over allegations he tried to pass fake currency in a shopping mall in Dubai. No charges were brought.
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