A hero Royal Marine has been cleared after being detained for seven months in Dubai after authorities admitted to having ‘insufficient proof’ in opposition to him.
Matthew Croucher, 40, who was awarded one among Britain’s highest bravery honours – the George Cross – for his service in Afghanistan, was arrested in November after being accused of spying.
He was then banned from leaving the UAE pending an investigation.
Authorities on Friday revealed that Croucher had been ‘arrested after accessing a public facility utilizing unlawful technique of expertise’ in a case his household dubbed ‘made up and ridiculous’.
‘The case was referred to the Dubai Public Prosecution, and after thorough investigation, the proof was discovered to be insufficient. The case was dismissed and Croucher is now free to go away the UAE,’ stated the Dubai media workplace.
Matthew Croucher, 40, was arrested in November after being accused of spying however was immediately cleared after being detained for seven months in Dubai
Croucher was awarded the George Cross for his service in Afghanistan after he jumped on a Taliban grenade to save lots of his colleagues
‘The choice highlights the Dubai Public Prosecution’s dedication to upholding the rule of legislation,’ the assertion continued.
The previous Lance Corporal, who as soon as jumped on a Taliban grenade to save lots of his colleagues, was arrested on November 4 after Dubai officers accused him of ‘deliberately and illegally accessing a telecommunications community’.
They didn’t reveal who they declare he was spying on, nor who he was supposedly working for, the Occasions reported.
Officers reportedly obtained an digital system, which Croucher claimed was utilized in his day-to-day job for safety penetration testing, after acquiring a warrant to go looking the place he was residing.
He was compelled to sleep on the ground whereas in jail because it was so overcrowded, in line with an in depth pal who added he was additionally made to eat a ‘primitive meal of rice and rooster twice a day with very unsanitary facilities’.
The pal claimed he was interrogated by Dubai’s police Legal Investigation Division for six hours, throughout which he was questioned about his position throughout the UK’s Ministry of Defence and intelligence companies.
Earlier than he was cleared on Friday, his household, from Solihull within the West Midlands, stated: ‘We’re shocked on the circumstances which have performed out. He was solely as a result of be away for a few weeks. We do not perceive why it’s taking so lengthy to course of the case.
‘We consider the case to be made up and ridiculous. The International Workplace has been ineffective, usually making issues worse and telling him his case has been formally concluded.
‘This has prompted our household immense stress and we simply hope this may be concluded on the earliest alternative.’
It is a breaking information story. Extra to observe.
