Dubai student sentenced to one year in prison

New York student Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos was on holiday in Istanbul with a friend in July. On the way back to the US, her flight connection took her via Dubai. The brief stopover in the United Arab Emirates turned into a months-long nightmare for the 21-year-old – and has now led to a conviction. This is reported by various media, including the British newspapers “Daily Mail” and “Mirror”.

Los Santos wore a waist support, a type of corset, during her trip. She had to wear them 24 hours a day because she had previously undergone surgery. Airport security officers asked her to remove the garment and took her to a separate room to do so.

There she was searched by employees who also helped her take off the corset. According to their own statement, Los Santos could not establish or organize the support on their own. However, the officers were said to have been rough with her and caused her pain due to her wounds.

When the student asked the women after the search to help her put the corset back on, they laughed at her and ignored her request several times. Los Santos is said to have felt vulnerable and panicked in her half-naked state. Only after repeated requests did a male officer allow her friend to help her get dressed.

But the situation did not end there: after the search, Los Santos was accused of “assaulting and insulting” a customs officer, which the accused vehemently denies. “I gently touched her arm to get her out of the way and then desperately called my friend for help,” Los Santos said, describing her thoughts.

She was eventually held in a room for several hours before a travel ban was imposed. What followed was a months-long legal battle that ultimately ended in a one-year prison sentence.

The organization Detained in Dubai, which handles similar cases, is trying to help the student. “Elizabeth was subjected to humiliating, painful and humiliating searches while traveling through the international hub from Istanbul to New York, but the nightmare is not over,” the organization’s official website says. “They either want to put her in jail or pressure her into paying them compensation,” says general manager Radha Stirling, speaking of tourist exploitation, blackmail and corruption.

A next hearing date is scheduled for the end of October. Los Santos is currently in prison. However, there is hope that she will be able to leave the country soon. “She has now been told that she faces a one-year prison sentence but, if all goes well, she will only be held until she can book a flight out of the UAE,” Stirling said.