I am working on a story about how governments engage with other governments to secure the release of their nationals who have been detained abroad. What they do right and wrong and could do better and what some of the difficulties are.
I noticed you did some work for an American recently: http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/stirling-och-partners/pressreleases/free-after-2-long-years-mentally-ill-american-stroke-victim-held-hostage-in-uae-over-debts-finally-released-following-campaign-by-detained-in-dot-dot-dot-2343492
Do you have any time this week to talk about the process and how well some govts and orgs are at this compared to others?
There are at least two ways of approaching this issue. Governments can secure the release of their detained citizens through back channel deal-making, which may be in the form of legitimate diplomacy, or it may compromise the rule of law; or they can intervene on the basis of those countries’ legal obligations to uphold the charters and treaties to which they are signatories, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and any number of related agreements.
Consular officials are restricted in the extent of intervention they can provide, and in most cases, we have not found them particularly helpful. Frankly we have seen instances where the advice they provide citizens who are in legal troubles in the GCC countries is quite counterproductive; for example discouraging people to publicise their plight. This occurred in the case of Matthew Hedges initially, with the FCO advising that the case should not be taken to the media; whereas it wasn’t until the press drew attention to Hedges’ arrest that the British government then took a strong position.
There are, of course, notable examples of excellent proactive responses by a government when a citizen is unfairly detained or wrongly accused; such as the intervention by the Australian government in the cases of Matthew Joyce and Marcus Lee; the American negotiated resolution to the debt persecution of the late David Oliver; and the powerful stance of British Foreign Affairs Minister Jeremy Hunt in the case of Matthew Hedges once his situation gained media attention; but by and large we do not see the level of intervention one might expect.
In our experience, both democratic and authoritarian governments are motivated to resolve unjust cases once they have been highlighted in the press. One need only look at the recent case of Rahaf Muhammad for instance; without the social media frenzy over her situation, there is no doubt that she would have been deported.
If a case is not published in the media, governments may try to resolve the issue discreetly through diplomatic channels, which is what most governments prefer; but if this method fails, the case will just remain in the dark.
There is greater support for citizens when they are in their home countries and sought by the UAE or other Gulf States for extradition. The High Court of England has essentially ruled that extradition to the Emirates is off the table due to the widespread documented human rights violations and lack of due process in that country. But this is a standard that really needs to be codified in international law; that would be the ideal approach for resolving unjust detentions in other jurisdictions. Arrests and convictions in countries with proven human rights violations, and a systemic lack of due process, should be open to challenge by governments of good standing. The UDHR and its related charters should be enforceable by compliant states on behalf of their citizens detained in states found to be non-compliant; that would give governments the necessary tools for intervention. If a country is ineligible to extradite a foreign national due to legitimate concerns for their safety, governments should also be able to intervene to secure the release of their citizens from those countries on the same grounds.
External Context سياق خارجي
http://www.mynewsdesk.com/uk/stirling-och-partners/pressreleases/free-after-2-long-years-mentally-ill-american-stroke-victim-held-hostage-in-uae-over-debts-finally-released-following-campaign-by-detained-in-dot-dot-dot-2343492