Innocent verdict for Canadian held in U.A.E., but man remains in custody

By Diana Mehta, The Canadian Press

The family of a Canadian imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates for nearly two years says the man has been acquitted of all charges in what human rights advocates have called an unjust case.

But Salim Alaradi’s family says the man has still not been released from custody, despite being declared innocent.

Alaradi had originally been on trial for terrorism charges which were abruptly dropped in March and replaced with two lesser offences.

His acquittal on Monday was on charges of allegedly providing supplies to groups in a foreign country without permission of the U.A.E. government and collecting donations without the government’s permission.

Alaradi immigrated to Canada in 1998 from the U.A.E. but returned there in 2007 to run a home appliance business. He was on vacation with his family in Dubai when he was suddenly arrested in August 2014.

Alaradi was among 10 men of Libyan origin detained around the same time – some of them have since been released.

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