Matt Joyce & Marcus Lee
“Today‟s judgment proves what is widely known in United Arab Emirates business circles; that Matthew Joyce, Marcus Lee and their co-accused are completely innocent of any wrongdoing, and are the victims of a series of misrepresentations to the Dubai authorities by Sunland and its senior officers.”
“Today‟s referral of Sunland to ASIC by Justice Croft comes some five months after Detained in Dubai made a similar formal referral to ASIC on this matter. ASIC now has only 9 days to bring their report down and pass it on to Dubai authorities before judgment is handed down in the criminal trial.”
Stirling said, “Verdicts of „not guilty‟ are almost unheard of in the United Arab Emirates. Defence counsel for Matthew Joyce in Dubai has not been allowed a full defence such as not being allowed to call key defence witnesses. The ability to table ASIC findings prior to the Judgement date is one of our last hopes for a reprieve.”
Read Matt Joyce's full story at the Detained in Dubai Website
"It is perfectly standard, albeit thoroughly inappropriate, for authorities to present statements in Arabic for the accused to sign under coercion and duress. This should be completely against the law and never admissible as evidence in court. A suspect should never have to sign any admissions or documents without being granted access or advice from their advocate. By the way, if a suspect asks for their lawyer, they will be told “no need for lawyer” and be denied access."
"Bail is not automatic and the requirements can be quite stringent. Bail should always be granted except in cases where the individual poses a risk to society. Marcus Lee and colleague Matt Joyce were jailed for almost a year before finally being approved for bail. Scott Richards, another Australian national, applied for bail after being arrested for promoting a charity on social media. His bail applications were denied even though he had been resident there for nine years, posted no threat to society and was not a flight risk."
Read the full article at Radha Stirling's LinkedIn
As with the case of Marcus Lee, the cash bond can be set shockingly high and the passport of a another party will need to be submitted to act as a guarantor (wife’s will not suffice). If a person does not have friends who can help, they may have to pay someone to act as guarantor. The power that the guarantor holds over the accused is evidenced by regular blackmailing episodes, essentially demanding further funds under the threat of withdrawing their passport and returning the accused to jail. A guarantor’s passport should not be a prerequisite for bail and this needs urgent UAE government review.