Endemol tech chief to be released from Dubai slammer

Excellent News

Its a shame it took as long as it did, but this is excellent news to everyone who knows Diz - his friends, family and people that have worked with him.

His release is by no small part down to the massive amount of work Radha Sterling has done to highlight his plight and all the people who contributed to the fund that was required for his legal representation.

Personally I will be hoovering out my suitcase and checking all my pockets for "dirt" before I fly through Dubai in April on the way to Oz.

Well...

...thank God (may you be touched by his noodly appendage) that it's a liberal country eh?

Hand pic coz it was removed by sword in Riyadh for taking the piss.

Poppy seeds?

Send 'em kilogram packages! Mail them directly to various staff at the airport. Send them to everyone. Geesh...

Dubai better make amends or their dreams of being THE future world-class city will be shattered. Idiots!

Boycott

If they want to take such a hard line, then maybe the West should as well and start boycotting the region. Then see how long this attitude lasts as the main reason for this development is that they realized that oil will not last forever so they need another way to make money. And what better way can you have than to create a tourist trap to rip the money from the hands of westerners, as if you would need to rip.

If there was a boycott even for 6 months, it would be funny to see how quick those religious views would take a back seat to the glorious all powerful money.

Though shalt not have idols.

What about Grooverider?

No hope, I'm sure. Pity. What's Fabio going to do in the meantime, though?

own fault

Anyone who is ingnorant enough to travel to a hell hole like UAE (and to not care that they are subsidising a rotten regime) _deserves_ to get a good lashing. Especially if they are too stupid not to take drugs on a plane.

Time to remove Dubai from all travel ?

It's about time that this pretentious self righteous country was omitted from the airline users world.

It will soon be impossible to avoid traces of one drug or another due to incresed accuacy of the tests available...... so everbody had better watch out.

What a bunch of arrogant, self-righteous, bigoted racists there be here today...

So certain non-white countries around the world have laws that you don't like! Big Deal. Grow-up and deal with it.

It's not like their punishments are some state secret. Anyone that plans to travel to some place should take a little time out to do some research.

Anyone that travels to the US should know that they are going to be finger printed, have their name checked against a no-fly list (that cannot be challenged or queried) and be subjected to the most ludicrous security-theatre by humourless morons that are armed to the teeth! ... and don't get me started on travel through Heathrow!

Oppressive regimes? Hmmm... Would that be a regime that has huge CCTV camera roll-out that can track you everywhere that you go along with ANPR; Facial recognition systems, proposed security checkpoints in stations and plans for (unworkable) National ID card plan... Oh yeah, and that wonderful Police force that is more interested in catching speeding motorists (making money) than they are in stopping criminals. Let's-go-to-war-with-Iraq-cos-we-don't-like-them.

Nope; for you bigots the the oppressive regime is the one with strong (well known) laws and punishments against drugs and alcohol.

You people won't be happy until every nations is just run by US/Western European/Canadian/Australian/NZ and according to their way, because everyone else is just wrong and barbaric.

Holiday...

"Yeah, our oil's running out so lets build a tourist resort, then we can arrest all those people who come here to have fun!"

In a word, avoid Dubia.

ironic

sure, dubai looks like a western modern liberal city but that is just a facade. having been & lived in the middle east, i can tell you that dubai is not a place you want to live. not only do drugs flow freely in their many clubs and bars (it has a reputation for mind-boggling X), but it is one of the most racist places I have ever been to. they've let in thousands of indians and pakistanis, philipinos and other asians to build their city. but they treat them like slaves. it made me sick just hear about it, let alone to speak with these people. i can guarantee that you will rarely find this type of exploitation in any western country. these people have no rights and are completely ignored by the justice system there. how can you condone such a mentality. i know that i can't and for that reason, i will not go there again.

Regarding "What a bunch of arrogant, self-righteous, bigoted racists there be here today... "

At least you signed your comments correctly ANONYMOUS COWARD, to afraid to stand up for what you state. I have no problems with punishments doled out by another country and that is not the issue. The problem is that they are more worried about someone being held for weeks with a over the counter medicine, or a few poppy seeds that fell off a bagel.

I did not state that the UK is better as you can be arrested and detained based on the books you read or download. In the US you can be sent to Gitmo and held indefinitly for this offence.

What I am stating is that the person should be given a fair trial which does not happen. When those 2 girls from the UK were busted trying to bring Cocaine back from somewhere in Africa they deserve what they get as they had it for trafficing.

You go into another country without knowing thier laws and get busted for carrying drugs then you should have known better. He did not actually have drugs on him and was treated as a second class citizen, that is the problem.

Why don't you do us all a favour ANONYMOUS COWARD and get yourself fixed so you cannot reproduce and bring more uneducated idiots into this world.

Vast majority here are tossers!

And I mean it just like that!

And in this case I am even willing to publish my name!

How many of you numpties have ever been anywhere in the middle and near east?

how many know or understand anything about the culture there!

just for info: I am a Kraut, or commonly also known as German (just for those who are not quite old enough to know, which seems to be the majority too, since a lot of the £$^%£" written sounds like that of clueless kids!

I have lived in the Saudi, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Iraq amongst others. I have traveled to each and every near and middle eastern country! And I found that the people over there are in generally more friendly, more courteous, and far more accommodating when they see, that you are willing to adjust a little to their customs and traditions.

But when people come across arrogant and self-righteous they are hit hard.

I am not saying that all Europeans are all arrogant bastards (although I personally think many of the are!!!) but the moment something happens over there everybody cries fould, where over here, many people get treated poorly and unfair when they arrive in the country and it doesn't seem to worry anyone.

In many cases, I found the US, Ozz, NZ and Europe fare more oppressive than the Middle East....

And now: feel free to flame me

how can people be so stupid?

oh dear oh dear....

having been to Dubai (not Dubia - learn to spell) 4 times now I can safely say that immigration there is considerably more friendly than when entering the US.

Also, calling the UAE a 'regime' is a sure fire sign of someone ignorant and uneducated. Pick up a book, read some history, learn the politics and something about the culture before you pass judgment in such a stupid fashion. The UAE and Dubai in particular has a health and education system that makes the UK look positively middle ages.

Besides, people are wrongly arrested the world over, but when its in a Middle East 'regime' (hint - read the sarcasm) it suddenly becomes headline news and the work of evil oppressors!

As for Groverider, the guy is obviously an idiot. What he deos in the way of recreational drug use is his own business, but if he is stupid enough to travel to a country with very strict drug laws without checking his pockets first he deserves all he gets. He should count himself lucky it wasn't Singapore or it would have been 15-20 years in prison.

@Andy Webb

First of all I am not Merkin(as you put it) or a Brit.

I am not talking about the people living in the country and have not made any statement about people living in a country, it is about the policies that the country abide by.

I am not talking about the harsh sentences if you break the law regarding that land which you decide to travel to.

It is about locking up someone and "forcing them to sign a document they cannot read or understand".

But if you want to go so far as run test on articles that people are carrying in case there is some remenants of drugs on it then all Americans could end up in jail due to the amount of drugs that can be found on most of the paper currency.

The Canadians that go there could be nailed for having high levels of THC in their system depending on where they live.

The issue is whether they are treated fairly, this is not the citizens but the government.

I do find it funny though how you talk about the way "Westerners" talk about the East, yet you have no issue doing it in reverse. Racism is racism regardless of the direction.

Sorry, but I'll stick with the bigotry, thanks

"And I found that the people over there are in generally more friendly, more courteous, and far more accommodating when they see, that you are willing to adjust a little to their customs and traditions."

Unless, for instance, you are a woman who thinks she has the right to fight off a rapist.

There are a few in prison because they failed, in this respect, to adjust a little.

---A Tosser.

For those of you who're calling Dubai as a "hell hole", have you actually been there?

Now, while I agree that the weekday traffic is horrible and it's a bit of a police state, and DXB airport is now so busy the check-in desks are swamped, and it's about 40% building site, and the local telco, Etisalat, is a thieving git (common to most regional telcos) it's not that bad.

Certainly the US and UK score almost as high on that International Police State Leaderboard list which was published last year. Pretty much every race, nationality and culture is represented. There's racism like anywhere else, but trying to pin it purely on nationals is disengenious.

The UAE's oil isn't running out very soon, but they are diversifying into shopping, tourism and money laundering. Not things that'll draw me and it seems that all the many malls all have the same shops.

The real-snow ski slope is genius though.

[Max]

rights in the middle east....

.... only if you are from the middle east, or what they call western. everybody else (and especially asians) have no rights. they certainly will be courteous and are extremely well mannered to any white man who's got money to go there. if you're the poor indian construction worker, you can always go crawl under a rock and die for all they care. let's not forget the majority of middle eastern countries live by Wasta. nuff said.