⚠️JUST IN: Threat actor
Ryan Pepper speaks from UAE detention
28 year old Ryan Pepper from Kent, UK, has now been held in
Sharjah detention centre for
over 7 months without charges. He still does not know what crime he is accused of.
In a secretly recorded voice note, Pepper revealed he and other detainees were
forced to sign legal documents in Arabic under threat of having their hands broken. None were given translations.
Pepper and
14 others on his case including 7 British nationals, all in their twenties — allege they were
blindfolded, stripped, beaten, sexually assaulted, and psychologically tortured in small rooms where
CCTV was turned off. Guards allegedly recorded the assaults and shared them on WhatsApp and Snapchat. Pepper was hospitalized at least once.
Conditions include 30–40 minutes outside his cell per day,
months without daylight, constant bright lights preventing sleep, and no drinking water. Detainees believe the food is drugged and only eat commissary items purchased with family money.
British Embassy officials visited Pepper and witnessed his cracked teeth and head bandage, yet the family has been told an investigation could take over a year. His two children, aged 1 and 3, haven’t seen him in over six months.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, confirmed a
dramatic spike in British citizens reporting torture and arbitrary detention in the UAE, calling Pepper’s case “not an isolated incident.”
@arch