A Brit detained then released in Dubai for a rude hand gesture claims he could now lose his job – because the UAE secretly placed him on an Interpol watch list.
IT expert Jamil Mukadam, 23, was held for five weeks for allegedly flicking his middle finger at a motorist who was tailgating him.
Jamil of Leicester was released in October and returned to his UK Government job a few days later.
But he says he has been told by his bosses that the UAE authorities had placed him on an Interpol watch list.
The listing would normally warrant dismissal from his security sensitive job – Mr Mukadam has previously claimed to work at Number 10.
Instead he has been suspended by his department to allow him time to remove his name from the list.
Mr Mukadam said: “If I had been anyone else, I’d never have known I was on Interpol’s watch list.
“Billy Barclay and Jamie Harron [two other Brits who recently escaped jail in Dubai] should really check to make sure they aren’t listed too.
“It’s only because I work for the Government that I was able to be informed.
”God knows why the UAE wanted to list me with Interpol, but it can’t have been for any pleasant reason.”
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, a UAE justice group, said that abuse of Interpol has been a long standing tactic of the UAE, one of Interpol’s largest voluntary cash contributors.
“We have alerted the UAE government of the existence of the Interpol notice and requested they investigate,” he said.
“So far, we have not received a response. Interpol allow themselves at least nine months to review notices and Jamil stands to permanently lose his employment if it is not resolved within three months.”
Any kind of rude gesture is a jailable offence in Dubai, including middle finger emojis.
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