Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos, a student at Lehman College, was traveling with a friend from Istanbul when the situation unfolded in mid-July, as reported by Detained in Dubai, an organization that aids foreigners in the United Arab Emirates.
The duo had a 10-hour layover in Dubai, which they had chosen over Paris, but for Polanco De Los Santos, those 10 hours turned into several months. She expressed her initial expectations, saying, "We thought it would be a more modern and futuristic city, but we were completely wrong."
During the security screening, airport staff instructed her to remove her doctor-prescribed waist-training brace.
Despite her reservations, she complied and was escorted into a booth with female security officers who were described as "rough" while removing the brace. Polanco De Los Santos felt violated and uncomfortable during the process.
She attempted to put the brace back on by herself, a task requiring two people, and then cried out for assistance. When the security officers did not help and blocked her exit, Polanco De Los Santos gently nudged one of them to get her attention so she could call for her friend's help.
However, officials informed her that she would be detained for "touching the female customs officer" and kept her in custody for hours while they filed the complaint. Notably, merely filing a criminal or civil case in Dubai initiates a complex legal process that prevents the accused party from leaving the country.
Unscrupulous individuals have exploited this system to extort money from foreigners, promising to drop the case in exchange for large sums.
Polanco De Los Santos isn't the only one facing such circumstances in Dubai. Other individuals have been detained for minor or bogus charges, leading to extended periods of detention. In some cases, it takes significant financial payments to have travel bans lifted.
Radha Stirling, the CEO of Detained in Dubai, emphasized the plight of those detained in the UAE for what are often baseless or trivial charges. She cited an example of a U.S. veteran who has been detained in the country for years over a disputed school debt.
For Polanco De Los Santos, the past few months have been marked by moving from one hotel to another and waiting for court hearings, causing significant distress.
Stirling commented on her situation, stating, "Even if Elizabeth wins her case, six months or more of being forced to stay in the country at her own cost while under the very real threat of imprisonment is an unacceptable consequence of transiting through Dubai. This is simply no way to treat visitors."
In another development, a man from Baltimore, Maryland, has been charged in connection with the tragic shooting that took the life of a Howard County deputy on Friday. See detailed story here
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