American Businessmen Freed In United Arab Emirates After 21 Months In Prison

Two U.S. citizens have been freed from a prison in the United Arab Emirates, following their acquittal earlier this week on charges they had supported militants fighting in Libya, their family said Friday.

Kamal Eldarat, 59, was released late Thursday night, according to his daughter, Amal Eldarat. His son, Mohamed, 34, was released on Tuesday, she said.

The two men had been detained for 21 months following a 2014 security sweep that rounded up almost a dozen Libyans and men of Libyan heritage living in the UAE.

Initially held incommunicado, the Eldarats went on trial in January on charges of supporting terrorists in Libya during the 2011 Arab Spring rebellion against dictator Moammar Gadhafi. The terrorism charges were eventually dropped, but they still faced charges of providing supplies to armed groups in Libya and raising donations without government permission.

The Eldarats, a Canadian-Libyan and a Libyan resident of the UAE all were acquitted Monday, though they were led from the courtroom in handcuffs and returned to prison while their releases were finalized. Salim Alaradi, the Canadian citizen, was released Tuesday and already has flown out of the country to be reunited with his family.

Allison Clear Fastow, a public relations specialist working with the Eldarat family, said their immediate plans are still uncertain.

The father and son must retrieve their U.S. passports from UAE authorities and will seek medical attention for ailments that developed or worsened during their lengthy detention. Family members and human rights groups said the Eldarats were tortured, enduring beatings, waterboarding and sleep deprivation. UAE officials denied the allegations and said the defendants had been provided due process.

The Eldarats also must look into their business affairs, said Fastow. The elder Eldarat was a successful real estate developer in the UAE and his son ran a chain of Subway shops. Their daughter tried to maintain the businesses in their absence, but she came back to the United States several months ago to campaign for their release.

The Eldarats are Libyan-Americans who sought asylum in the United States during Gadhafi’s reign. The family has lived in the UAE for two decades but retained their U.S. citizenship.

The case put a strain on relations between Washington and Abu Dhabi. The State Department sent consular officials to attend the court proceedings, and U.S. officials pressed the UAE government to release the men.