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The family of an American businessman jailed in the United Arab Emirates for the past 15 years say he is rotting in a ‘dungeon’ prison, sick with a flesh-eating infection and near death, claiming the US put him through high by WNBA star Brittney Griner. .
Zack Shahin, 58, is serving a 53-year prison sentence on charges of fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes. His heartbroken family insists that he is innocent and that he is being illegally detained on trumped-up and politically motivated crimes as they continue to desperately fight for his release.
Shahin’s health has been deteriorating as he battles an infection in his lungs and rotting meat and skin sores, as his family believe his condition is much worse than they realize. Almost three months ago, his condition became so serious that he was transported to a Dubai hospital where he underwent numerous surgeries, but they were unsuccessful.
The family sent clemency letters to the State Department on November 23, 2022, and after several revisions, they were sent to the United Arab Emirates on December 6.
But while this was going on, the Shahins were unaware that the US had been negotiating the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was released from a Russian prison on December 8, 2022 after the US arrived. to an agreement to return the international arms dealer, Viktor Bout. which the UAE helped facilitate.
Zack Shahin pictured with his two sons has been in a Dubai prison for 15 years. His son Ramy told Fox News that “they completely abandoned us … they completely pushed us to the side.” “Maybe we’re not newsworthy enough for them, we’re not famous, we’re just an ordinary family, and they just dumped us.”
Brittney Griner was released on December 8, 2022 from a Russian prison after the US reached a prisoner exchange deal to return international arms dealer Viktor Bout. After President Biden gave his final approval, the swap took place in the United Arab Emirates after an agreement was reached.
Shahin’s son, Ramy, told Fox News that “they completely abandoned us … they completely pushed us aside.”
“Maybe we’re not newsworthy enough for them, we’re not famous, we’re just an ordinary family, and they just dumped us,” he said.
Martin Lonergan, a British activist who met Zack while he was in prison, told Fox News it was a “dungeon”, a place where “they push you around to be forgotten”.
“It’s rotting,” Longeran said. ‘If you can imagine a man dying because he’s rotting…they’re cutting pieces out of Zack, and he’s dying trying to fight the infection.’
He said, in part: “Never in my life have I witnessed such injustice.”
The Lebanese, married with two children, was a Pepsi truck driver and eventually worked his way up to become a PepsiCo executive, leaving for the United Arab Emirates in 2004 after being recruited by the country’s finance minister and bank president. Dubai Islamic. , Deyaar Mohamed Khalfan bin Kharbash.
During his four years as CEO, the $5 million private company became a $1.5 billion publicly traded company and the second largest real estate company listed on the Dubai Stock Exchange.
Zack Shahin, 58, is serving a 53-year prison sentence on charges of fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes. His heartbroken family insists that he is innocent and that he is being illegally detained on trumped-up, politically motivated crimes as they desperately fight for his release.
Zack Shahin pictured with his wife, who their son Ramy described as a shell of a person as his father has been captured against his will.
Two years later when Dubai’s ruler died as political fallout engulfed Bin Kharbash and hampered Shahin’s success and ultimately his freedom.
After he resigned from the bank in early March 2008, he was kidnapped by state security and charged with crimes that the family says he never committed.
His family said he was detained for 13 months before formal charges were brought against him. He was released on bail, then spent the next nine years in jail before finally being convinced in 2017. He was sentenced to 49 years, which did not include time served.
The family said the Big Four global accounting firms audited Deyaar during Shahin’s years as chief executive and found no financial loss or evidence of the financial crimes he was accused of.
“My dad is just an ordinary American who started working hard to make a name for himself,” Ramy told Fox News.
“He took this small real estate company and turned it into what it became and built so much of what Dubai is known for. And then they just tore it down.
According to Detained International, a British organization that provides pro bono legal services to prisoners, Shahin is the longest-serving American white-collar prisoner abroad.
A police officer enters the Al-Awir Central Prison in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, on May 21, 2020. It is unclear if this is the prison where Shahin is being held.
In July, when President Biden endorsed an existing hostage recovery law, the family became a bit more optimistic.
The law directs US agencies to communicate more with the families of Americans illegally detained abroad and allows their captors to face penalties.
But, her request to defend her loved one under the law, the Levinson Act, was denied within five days.
“I think the Biden administration and the State Department should look at our case and treat it with a little more respect,” Ramy said. ‘Because they haven’t even given us any of that.’
Human Rights Watch, Detained International, and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation are some of the human rights organizations that have been trying to raise awareness about the inhumane and appalling conditions of Shahin’s imprisonment.
But, the groups claim they have received no response from the US. government.
His family, which is broken, says they will keep fighting.
“I’m going to keep fighting until I get out,” Ramy said. And if I fail, so be it. But I will never let this go.