Close X
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
ADVT 
International

Canadian 'Whistleblower' Detained For Years In Middle East To Learn Fate Tuesday

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 23 Dec, 2019 11:04 PM

    MONTREAL - The family of a Canadian geologist jailed in Dubai on fraud charges is cautiously optimistic he'll be exonerated in a court hearing scheduled for Tuesday.

     

    Andre Gauthier has been detained off and on in the Middle East since December 2015, according to his son, Alexis.

     

    Alexis told The Canadian Press in a phone interview Monday from Quebec City that his father's troubles began when he alerted authorities in the United Arab Emirates to irregular dealings in a gold-trading company called Gold AE.

     

    Instead of being thanked for the information, Alexis says Gauthier was arrested and charged with committing the fraud he uncovered.

     

    Radha Stirling, with the UK-based legal specialist group Detained in Dubai, says what allegedly happened to Gauthier is common for foreigners in the UAE.

     

    Stirling was contacted by Gauthier's family at the beginning of his ordeal.

     

    "It's a common problem," Stirling said in an interview Monday from London. Stirling, a human rights advocate, began working for foreigners trapped in Dubai 12 years ago and has since expanded her work to other countries in the Gulf region.

     

    "People find themselves in companies, or are expats hired to do a particular job, and if there is an underlying scam (the companies) try and use the foreigners as a scapegoat," she said.

     

    Stirling says the Quebecer from the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region was a "whistleblower" who was set up by the people who committed fraud against the gold company's investors.

     

    Gauthier, 68, was jailed in Dubai without charges for about 18 months, beginning in December 2015. He was released but then convicted on fraud-related charges and sentenced to eight years in prison, Alexis said.

     

    He appealed, but fled the country before the appeal was completed and was caught in Oman. Gauthier was extradited to Dubai in May 2019. Alexis said since then, the court named an expert witness who came back with a report that vindicates his father.

     

    "We received the report in November and gave it to the judge," Alexis said. "The judge said he would have a final decision (on the appeal) Dec. 24."

     

    Alexis said his father is also facing civil court cases, "but the lawyers said they will hopefully fall with the criminal complaint."

     

    Both Alexis Gauthier and Radha Stirling commended the Canadian government for its help in trying to secure Gauthier's release. Stirling said federal official are "very hopeful" Gauthier will be exonerated on Tuesday.

     

    Former foreign affairs minister Chrystia Freeland called Gauthier before recently handing over her portfolio to the new minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, Alexis said. And Alexis said he spoke with Champagne last Thursday.

     

    "We are confident," said Alexis. "But we don't want to have high expectations. We don't know why the verdict would be negative, but so many strange things have happened that we are trying to stay realistic."

     

    MORE International ARTICLES

    Pak Minister Wants Priyanka Chopra Removed As UN Goodwill Ambassador For Supporting ‘Indian Military, Modi Govt’

    A Pakistani woman called out Priyanka Chopra at a Los Angeles event for her tweet in the wake of Balakot strike. Pakistan minister Shireen Mazari has now demanded that the actor should be removed as UN Goodwill Ambassador.  

    Pak Minister Wants Priyanka Chopra Removed As UN Goodwill Ambassador For Supporting ‘Indian Military, Modi Govt’

    Won't Let India, China Leverage ‘Growing Nation’ Tag Now: Donald Trump

    Won't Let India, China Leverage ‘Growing Nation’ Tag Now: Donald Trump
    US President Donald Trump has said that India and China are no longer "developing nations" and were "taking advantage" of the tag from the WTO and asserted that he will not let it happen anymore.    

    Won't Let India, China Leverage ‘Growing Nation’ Tag Now: Donald Trump

    Labour Party Has Become Anti-Indian: British MP On Kashmir

    Bob Blackman also said that India has a long-established tradition of respecting different faiths and religions.  

    Labour Party Has Become Anti-Indian: British MP On Kashmir

    Alwar Court Acquits 6 Men Accused Of Lynching Pehlu Khan On Video

    Alwar Court Acquits 6 Men Accused Of Lynching Pehlu Khan On Video
    A court in Rajasthan’s Alwar acquitted six people in the 2017 lynching of Pehlu Khan on Wednesday.

    Alwar Court Acquits 6 Men Accused Of Lynching Pehlu Khan On Video

    Malaysian Ministers Say Zakir Naik Should Be Expelled

    Malaysian Ministers Say Zakir Naik Should Be Expelled
    Zakir Naik, who has lived in Malaysia for about three years and faces charges of money laundering and hate speech in India, has come under fire for his recent comments that Hindus in the Southeast Asian country had “100 times more rights” than the Muslim minority in India.

    Malaysian Ministers Say Zakir Naik Should Be Expelled

    Pak Army Has Solid Info On India’s Military Action Plan For Pok: Imran Khan

    “The world’s eye is on Kashmir and on Pakistan...I will be the ambassador who raises Kashmir’s voice at every international forum,” he said.

    Pak Army Has Solid Info On India’s Military Action Plan For Pok: Imran Khan