A British Army veteran has been left homeless in Dubai after a wrongful arrest and has his passport withheld.
John Murphy, 59, spent time in a rodent-infested jail in the UAE city before being made homeless and is unable to come back to the UK.
Mr Murphy’s misfortune began back in 2017 when he was wrongfully imprisoned for “sexual deviance” after his hand unintentionally brushed past the hip of a hotel security guard, a conviction that was later dropped.
Despite being acquitted of the crime, the ex-serviceman, who was once employed as an operations manager at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, was slapped with a travel ban after his landlord sued him for unpaid rent whilst he was detained.
He also has been refused to access his passport or an Emirates ID, which means he cannot work.
This situation has meant Mr Murphy burnt through all of his savings whilst fighting the 10-year-long legal battle and in the last five months, The Sun reports, he has been forced to live on the streets of Dubai.
Homelessness is illegal in the UAE, as is begging.
The British Army veteran sleeps for roughly four hours in the Dubai metro during the day to avoid the heat in the day, which can often reach tempretures of up to 45C, and then wanders the streets at night.
Mr Murphy spent six weeks in Al Awir prison in the UAE
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GETTY / GOFUNDME
Now relying on GoFundMe donations to survive, Mr Murphy has spent weeks without food.
On top of this, the grandfather, who holds both British and Irish citizenship, needs urgent medical treatment as he suspects he has skin cancer due to lesions developing in his arm.
He has also lost several teeth during this time and his body is also rejecting a metal pin that was previously inserted in his leg after a military injury.
Campaign group, Detained in Dubai, said: “Mr Murphy’s situation has now deteriorated to the point of catastrophe.”
The British Army veteran sleeps in the Dubai metro during the day to avoid the heat
The group have been making attempts to repatriate him to Ireland, but promises failed to come to fruition and has now left him fearing he has been “abandoned”.
In a bid to improve his situation, Mr Murphy even handed himself over the Emirati police in Dubai, to which they refused to arrest him.
In an article about the British veteran’s situation on Detained in Dubai’s website, Radha Stirling, the group’s CEO, said: “This is outrageous.
“John was found innocent, yet ten years later he is starving on the streets, denied cancer treatment, food, or shelter.
“This is the direct result of a system that criminalises debt and traps people in a cycle of poverty and despair.
“They won’t let him leave, and they won’t even arrest him.
“He is being left to die in plain sight.”
Speaking to The Sun, Mr Murphy said: “I don’t think I’m going to survive this summer. I don’t see how I can. There’s no way to survive outside in the heat.
“It’s already hot during the day, which is when I sleep, but soon nighttime temperatures won’t fall below 36 degrees and that’s when the worst of my problems will really start.
“I have a seven-year-old granddaughter and four kids. My family has given me all they can, bearing in mind they are really struggling because the cost of living is horrendous.
“For them there’s this horrid guilt factor but I know they can’t help me.
“Realistically I should be helping them out, not the other way around.”
Despite the horrendous situation the veteran finds himself in, he remains upbeat and owes his survival instinct to the time he spent in the military.
Having spent eight years in the British Army, Mr Murphy feels like he built up resilience that is helping him continue on despite his circumstances.
He said: “I’m ex-military and we have to deal with the cards in front of us. I don’t have time to feel sorry for myself. I don’t have the luxury of self-pity.
“All I can do is try my very best to survive the day and then make it another day after that.”
The British-Irish grandfather believes he is being refused to travel because there is a “black mark” against his name due to him “finding and eradicating embezzlement” from another business in the UAE.
He also suspects this was the real reason behind his “sexual deviance” charge in 2017, which was dropped after he endured two stints in prison.
Mr Murphy spent six weeks in the Al Awir and Al Wathba jails, to which he described as “dreadful” experiences.
He said: “It was absolutely horrendous and was riddled with rats.
It was baking hot all of the time and the food served was more like rotting garbage.
Ms Stirling said on Mr Murphy’s case: “The Trump administration successfully repatriated a number of American citizens from the UAE.
“It is disappointing that Britain and Ireland have not stepped in to save John Murphy.
“He is a veteran, a grandfather, and he has already suffered enough.
“The Irish and British governments must act now.”
