Air Force Veteran and his brother sentenced to 4 months in Dubai prison
Joseph and Joshua Lopez received a four-month prison sentence in Dubai. They were sentenced for a drinking related incident. However, Radha Stirling claimed that they were drugged and robbed during the night of drinking. Stirling is the CEO of “Detained in Dubai”, a human rights organization. The office of Senator JD Vance has been contacted to help the Lopez brothers, as they are from Ohio.
From Fox News:
Radha Stirling, CEO of human rights organization Detained in Dubai and an advocate for Joseph and Joshua Lopez, alleges the brothers were drugged and robbed on the same night as the drinking that landed them in jail, and they are calling on U.S. lawmakers, including Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for help. The drugging allegations have yet to be officially confirmed.
“Sen. Vance’s office has been in constant communication with the State Department, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the United States and the constituents’ family,” Vance spokesperson Parker Magid told Fox News Digital. “Sen. Vance is monitoring the as-yet-unresolved legal proceedings carefully.”
Stirling said the Lopez brothers are appealing their sentence, alleging they were “targeted by scammers while on vacation in Dubai.”
“While local criminals target tourists with what appears to be the support of law enforcement, Dubai is far from the ‘safe tourist destination’ it’s marketed as,” Stirling said.
The State Department told Fox News Digital in a statement it is aware of the Lopez brothers’ recent arrests.
“While local criminals target tourists with what appears to be the support of law enforcement, Dubai is far from the ‘safe tourist destination’ it’s marketed as,” Stirling said.
The State Department told Fox News Digital in a statement it is aware of the Lopez brothers’ recent arrests.
Additional Reading:
Conklin, A. (2024, August 23). Ohio Air Force vet, brother sentenced to 4 months in ‘notorious’ Dubai prison after yacht drinking incident. Fox News. Link.
Category: Veterans in the news
Thankfully, they didn’t something really heinous that deserves years in prison such as…
Posting a meme in the UK.
What would be the repercussions had they tried to have relations with one of their goats… I mean, wives.
It’s outrageous that they can catch criminal charges for hurting precious feelings al the whilst, Muzzie grooming gangs and former colonials are destroying the country.
They should have listened to Enoch Powell.
His ‘Rivers of Blood ‘ scenario would probably be a significant improvement.
10 years ago,
German rock band the Scorpions were touring the world.
However, their American drummer James Kottak
decided to be an asshole at the Dubai, UAE airport.
He went to JAIL.
And, he lost his job with the Scorpions,
replaced by former Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee (from Sweden).
James Kottak passed away January 2024,
found on the floor in his bathroom at age 61 (like Elvis and others),
after a lifetime of alcoholism.
https://blabbermouth.net/news/scorpions-drummer-james-kottak-jailed-for-insulting-islam-in-dubai-airport
It’s amazing how self righteous “Americans” act outside of their own country. They seem to be unaware that civil rights and the Constitution that guarantees those rights are uniquely American!
It’s almost like they weren’t paying attention in their Civics classes… if they still teach those things in school!
Like Griner in Russia? ” But I didn’t know it wasn’t allowed”.
The vast majority of Americans are Karen’s to the rest of the world.
I heard Brittany Griner being interviewed at the Olympics, and she didn’t sound like a she.
Gulag time’s made her patriotic today:
https://www.today.com/news/paris-olympics/brittney-griner-national-anthem-olympics-rcna166142
Is there an echo in here?
Yep, be a drunk infidel in public in a muslim country… that’ll go well.
Dubai: Come for the Camel Races, Stay for the Midnight Express Experience
When in ANY country that forbids alcohol on a religious and legal basis, DON’T DRINK! (sigh……….) How difficult is that to learn and follow?
(BTDT – a tour in Saudi after the Khobar Towers blowup)
UAE is different than KSA. Tons of bars and clubs all throughout Dubai.
Spent plenty of time in both places. Although they’re neighbors in the same peninsula, they are vastly different when it comes to a lot of Western acceptance on things like this.
It’s still a 0% legal BAC in public in the Emirates. They try very hard to balance their traditional Islam with their demand for tourist/expat business – and there are a lot of uncompromising elements to that balancing act. Keep the drinking on base, at home, or within the hotel grounds. There’s an amazing steakhouse near the mangroves in Abu Dhabi that I absolutely loved (best foie gras I’ve ever had), and I’d always have a glass or two of wine when dining there – but that was it and I’d always make sure to spend an hour or two at various other distractions before driving home.
Even after a party at the Ambassador’s residence where everyone carried passports in non-tourist colors, everyone smart had arranged for a driver to get them home. Four months is an insanely light sentence for that part of the world.
I have spent many a blurry nights in and out of the clubs in the Jumeirah district of Dubai, tipsy as all get out, haggling taxi fares to get to and from either the ship or hotel. No one cared, and I was fine, as long as I was not doing anything incredibly stupid. I was stationed on a Minesweep in Bahrain for quite a few years and it was the same there.
Now, this is almost 20 years ago (Jesus this makes me feel old now), but I can’t imagine that the atmosphere and societal norms have been curtailed more than what it was, given the explosion of growth in the area, largely given to all the Western expats that have moved to the areas.
Heck, a lot of the clubs in Dubai sold Absinthe, which was still illegal in the US at the time.
It has actually changed immensely over those decades. It’s been three years, for me, so I cannot say how much it has changed since the pandemic ended:
With Dubai’s global stock rising (from deep-water port to global finance and tourism) and its citizenry being overwhelmed 9:1 by expats, a lot of traditional Muslims from the powerful families pushed back hard on what they saw as the incursion of western debauchery; now, visibly intoxicated people (outside of the myriad hotel bars) are going to be reported and arrested whether they’re harming anyone or not. Bar hopping is still possible within the larger hotels – which have plenty of well-stocked bars, but not so much on the street. Plenty of traditional Muslims in those hotel bars, too; but it stays there.
The country has adopted a massive surveillance network and it’s almost impossible to misbehave in public without being noticed, tracked, and caught. While it’s anathema to US values, this does reduce real crime by a huge degree – though the justice system still largely favors UAE citizens. Ironically, this makes it less likely to get busted for a DUI as moving violations are almost exclusively dealt with by photographing license plates – not just static cameras (which are everywhere), even the patrol cars are rigged with cameras to take a picture of your plate – they usually won’t even pull you over; you basically need to crash to get busted.
The adoption of robotic jockeys has greatly reduced (not eliminated, but reduced) human trafficking in the country – a large demographic trafficked into the country used to be young children for use as (literal) camel jockeys. Sexual/labor trafficking remains a concern.
The government has been very aggressive in their attempts to have it both ways, as a stalwart of traditional Islam AND as an inviting destination for tourists/expats/investment/technology/talent/etc., to the point that maintaining that balance now shows up in most of their initiatives.
That’s interesting. Sounds like they are clamping down a little bit.
Still, no where near as bad as KSA, where there are no bars, clubs, and/or alcohol at all, and the Mutaween hit people with a cane for not following Islamic rules during Ramadan.
Definitely not like KSA, but the Saudis are now moving in a direction toward what the Emirates have become (real change takes time, and there’s still a long way to go). The financial benefits are undeniable and, with Brandon doing everything he could early on to undermine their regional hegemony, they see a need to appeal to more moderate minds around the Gulf. The global (primarily youth) support for Iranian proxies since Oct 7 accentuates the need for such a shift.
If Mr. Trump wins back the White House, I wouldn’t be surprised to see KSA sign on to the Abraham Accords.
I am astounded, having been in UAE and the Middle East, the number of people wanting to visit. Regulars think it’s the same as home, but they are vastly mistaken. It’s a VERY restricted lifestyle and there are no “rights” as we would think. No SOFAs as far as I can recall either. We were told “Not a foot out of line, because there is nothing we can do for you.” Ignorant masses.
There is a SOFA but it is classified.
That SOFA was purchased from Devon Home Furniture. 56 more monthly payments and that baby is all my mine. Made with the finest particle board, wood veneer contact paper and asbestos cussions that money can buy.
Did ikea buy out Decom Home Furniture? Some assembly required, swear words guaranteed. Do not assemble in the presence of children who would be all too happy to let fellow shoppers at the grocery store hear what they learned at home.
Anyone besides Hack Stone notice that when Devon Home Furniture would advertise in the Base newspapers, the listing of their locations throughout all of America were outside of military installations? Total coincidence.
FYI… Ikea outsources their sh*t to China now. Was there recently and wanted to buy a Swedish-made cutting board… no dice, Ikea has their stuff made in China due to Globohomoisation now, Had to buy a cutting board (for cheese, etc.) at a grocery store, who has to source their stuff locally, of course. No sh*t,
I’m thinking that if you choose to decide to get blind drunk in a country that is run by Muslims who consider drinking to be a cardinal sin, you should probably expect bad things to happen.
And why is it again that the US government should get involved in the repercussions from such stupidity?
The Foreign Service has always had a sector (I think it’s the Public Diplomacy career track) that deals with US citizens who are locked up overseas – and it should be involved.
Getting involved doesn’t (shouldn’t) mean trading terrorists and arms smugglers for privileged athletes (or regular citizens) who legitimately broke HN law, but the government should provide advocacy and a communications channel.
Stupid People of The Week Thread dropping early this week? Or is it late, having missed the post yesterday? Too bad for them that their Brotherly Love may become supplemented by some “Man Love Thursday”.
O/T, today is the 3rd anniversary of the bombing of Abbey Gate at Kabul Airport. There was a wreath laying at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery. In attendance were the families of the 13 who lost their lives and former President Donald J Trump. Say. Their. Names. Not Forgotten 🇺🇸
Don’t see any Democrats there.
https://www.nbcnews.com/video/trump-lays-wreath-at-arlington-national-cemetery-for-victims-of-kabul-airport-attack-217980485576
Nor were there any service chiefs or DoD reps….Expected to see at least one representative from 8th & I
The only US Military Officer to lose their job over this fuckup was Lieutenant Colenel Stuart Scheller. You could tell at the dignified transfer of remains that Joe Biden was pissed. This ceremony interrupted his Ice Cream Party at Rehoboth Beach.
FJB and crew on the left.
That is why he kept checking his watch, and thinking “I can’t believe this BS is taking so long to unload some boxes; they could be using a forklift.”
They only have to act normal for 70 more days.
Not a single representative to be seen from the Harris-Biden administration. Fuck. Them. All.
Which surprises absolutely NOONE!
Also shows how successful the dims have been at infiltrating and destroying the upper echelons of the military.. Truly shameful
Leftists gonna leftist…
Trump vows to fire every official responsible for “Afghanistan calamity” on Day-1:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/youre-fired-trump-vows-pink-194134717.html
Campaign ad about them:
https://x.com/TeamTrump/status/1828009495261553050
Moving statements from the families. You can see / feel their pain. Shameful of the current regime
The heartwarming thing about this story is the brothers may be able to spend Christmas together. And Christmas is about family.
Meanwhile, royal idiot Travis King who defected to North Korea and they returned him because he was of no value to them will plead Guilty to five charge and be sentenced at court martial shortly:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us-army-private-king-fled-015934217.html