UN rights experts urge UAE to release British businessman Ryan Cornelius

United Nations rights experts urged the United Arab Emirates to release Ryan Cornelius, a 72-year-old British businessman who they said completed his original prison sentence in 2018.

The experts said Cornelius's continued detention risked his health and life. They called on the Emirati government to release him without delay and said he remained in prison after a 20-year extension imposed in proceedings they described as affected by serious judicial irregularities.

The experts said Cornelius was arrested in 2008 in connection with a financing dispute, convicted in 2011 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. They said that shortly before he completed that sentence, his imprisonment was reportedly extended by another 20 years over an alleged outstanding debt.

They also said the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention had already found his detention to be arbitrary. The experts said civil proceedings in Bahrain reportedly found in 2020 that assets and payments transferred to the lender had fully discharged Cornelius's debt and exceeded the amount due.

The experts said international human rights law rejects imprisonment to enforce a civil debt. They cited his age, the length of his detention, deteriorating health, reports of inadequate medical care and poor conditions, and said urgent action was needed to avoid irreparable harm.

They said Emirati authorities must remove any remaining obstacles to his release. They also said they had been in contact with the Emirati and British governments and urged them to seek a diplomatic resolution.

The experts are independent figures mandated by the Human Rights Council to report their findings and do not speak for the United Nations itself. The experts involved included special rapporteurs on torture and on the rights to physical and mental health, the expert on the enjoyment of rights by older persons, and the working group on arbitrary detention.