Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai who had been helping the Crawford family, comments on release of Derrin Crawford.
23 year old flight attendant Derrin Crawford has finally been released from prison. Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, is pleased that Derrin's detention did not turn into the year long ordeals that Andy Neal and Artur Ligeska faced, but highlights just how risky Dubai can be for expats and visitors.
Stirling said in a statement today "We are glad that sufficient attention was brought to bear and resulted in Derrin's release. There is no question that without having been highlighted in the media, Derrin would have been, like so many others, wrongfully convicted and jailed by a system that requires no evidence and operates without scrutiny. Andy Neal suffered false imprisonment for over a year before finally being freed, due to persistent campaigning and coverage. Artur Ligeska similarly endured lengthy imprisonment without evidence, and was only released following active intervention by the Polish government, driven by media campaigns led by ourselves and others. It is simply too easy in Dubai to get arrested and wrongly convicted, and far too difficult to correct miscarriages of justice.; so we are very happy in this case that Derrin will be coming home."
Radha Stirling discussed drug risks and Derrin Crawford in a Facebook livestream last week: