Family of American Imprisoned in UAE for 15 Years Says Biden Abandoned Him for Brittney Griner
Zack Shahin has rotted — literally rotted — in a Dubai prison for 15 years.
In the concrete cell, the American citizen shares a concrete cell with 60 other prisoners. The loud air conditioner runs 24 hour a day. The air is humid, cold, and smells like decaying flesh.
Zack sleeps on an old plastic mattress, with a dirty blanket and clothes that were never washed. Prisoners are seldom allowed to leave their cells.
His family believes he is innocent.
But Zack — sick, sleep-deprived and starving — lost the will to live years ago.
FAMILY OF DYING AMERICAN IMPRISONED in DUBAI PLEADS TO MERCY
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“He is rotting,” Martin Lonergan was a British activist who met Zack while in prison. He spoke to Fox News. “If you can imagine a man is dying because he’s rotting … they’re cutting bits of Zack away, and he’s dying trying to fight the infection.”
Nearly three months ago, Zack’s condition became so dire he was moved to Dubai Hospital There were multiple unsuccessful surgeries.
His family submitted mercy letters to State Department officials on Nov. 23 in a last attempt to bring Zack home. After nearly two weeks of back-and-forth with State Department officials, the Shahins revised their letters until Dec. 6, when they were finally sent to United Arab Emirates.
The Shahins didn’t know this, but the U.S. was concurrently negotiating the release Brittney Griner is a WNBA starThis was made possible by the UAE.
“They completely abandoned us … they completely pushed us to the side,” Ramy Shahin, Zack’s son, told Fox News. “Maybe we’re not newsworthy enough for them — we’re not famous, we’re just an ordinary family — and they just left us.”
‘They just took him down’
Zack, a Lebanese-American native, moved to Texas at the age of five. He worked as a truck driver for Pepsi in Houston. He eventually rose to the rank of executive.
Zack was first hired in 2004. UAE by Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash, the country’s minister of finance and chairman of the Dubai Islamic Bank. Deyaar was his real estate development firm. He was appointed CEO. The $5 million private company became the second-largest publicly traded realty company on the Dubai Stock Exchange, with $1.5 billion in annual turnover.
The political fallout that followed the death of Dubai’s ruler in 2006 engulfed bin Kharbash. According to Zack’s family, this disruption disrupted Zack’s success. In March 2008, he resigned from Deyaar.
Zack, now 43, was summoned to an auditing meeting on March 23. Zack’s family claimed that he was taken by state security. After 17 days in solitary confinement, he was brought to the police station and arrested on charges of fraud, embezzlement and other financial crimes — crimes his family says are false and politically motivated.
Zack Shahin (59) was illegally held in a Dubai prison for 15 year for crimes he didn’t commit, according to his family.
(Courtesy the Shahin family
His family claimed that he was held in detention for thirteen months before formal charges against him were filed. Zack was not only released on bail but spent the next nine-years in jail until he was finally convinced. Zack was sentenced to 49 year imprisonment, but that didn’t include any time served.
His family insists that he is innocent. Deyaar was CEO of the big four global accounting firms. They found no evidence or financial losses. The financial crimes According to the Shahins, he was charged with.
“My dad’s just an ordinary American guy who started working hard to make a name for himself,” Fox News interviewed Ramy. “He took this little real estate company and made it what it became and built so much of what Dubai is known for. And then they just took him down.”
‘My dad has no hope’
Zack is now 58 and the longest-serving American white collar prisoner in another country, according Detained International, a British charity that provides pro-bono legal services for prisoners.
Many organizations are represented, including Human Rights Watch International, Detained International and James W. Foley Legacy Foundation. Have tried to raise awareness of Zack’s imprisonment over the years but haven’t gotten a response from the U.S. government.
“I’m going to keep fighting until he gets out,” Ramy said. “And if I fail, then so be it. But I’ll never let this go.”
Zack’s mental health and physical condition have greatly declined while he was in prison. His family stated that he would not survive the rest of his life.
(Courtesy the Shahin family
Zack is suffering from numerous health issues including an infection of his lungs, skin sores, and rotting flesh. They suspect Zack’s condition is more serious than they realize, as they have never seen his medical records.
Lonergan, a Brit who met Zack in prison, compared the prison with a dungeon.
“It is where you are pushed away to be forgotten about,” He said.
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Lonergan worked for Detained International and was held with Zack for 10 months beginning in 2020. The American was first seen by Lonergan from across the hall through the bars in his own cell. Despite the severity of Zack’s physical ailments, Lonergan said his mental health is “far, far worse.”
“I did have conversations with Zack, and there’s times when you can see a glimmer of light in his eyes when he talks about his story,” Lonergan, “Most of what I’ve discovered is from research from when I got out.”
“I have never in my life witnessed such injustice,” He concluded.
After President Biden, the Shahins had hope. Signed an executive agreement In July, it strengthened an existing hostage recovery statute. It instructed U.S. authorities to communicate more with relatives of Americans illegally held overseas and to allow their captors to face sanctions.
Martin Lonergan, who was in Dubai prison for 279 days with Zack, claimed that he lost three-quarters of his bodyweight and developed a heart condition as a result of the inhumane conditions.
(Courtesy Martin Lonergan
However, they were denied their request to advocate Zack under the Levinson Act within five working days.
“I think the Biden administration and the State Department should look at our case and treat it with a little more respect,” Fox News interviewed Ramy. “Because we haven’t even been given any of that.”
Ramy was just 14 years old when his father imprisoned him. Ramy is now 30 and speaks to his father by phone every few days.
“My dad has no hope,” He said. “It hurts me every time I talk to him because he lost hope a long time ago. He’s a shell of what he used to be.”
News of his condition led Zack’s family to make one final appeal for mercy from the UAE royal family.
“All we want is mercy,” Zack’s sister-in-law, Aida Dagher, told Fox News. “Somebody move, please. Let this guy fly to the medical center in Houston, close to his family, where he can have whatever is left of his life.”
Zack’s son Ramy said that the entire family is still alive “broken” They are grieving for their father’s incapacitation.
(Courtesy the Shahin family
The State Department Multiple times, the Shahins were asked to reduce the amount of language used in their mercy letter, Fox News reported via emails. The news broke two days later, about Griner’s release involved the involvement of the UAE.
“My dad’s situation was an inconvenience to the U.S.,” Fox News interviewed Ramy. “When they were working with the United Arab Emirates and Russia to negotiate Brittney Griner’s release, I feel like they thought, ‘let’s not mention Zack Shahin while we’re working to get her out because it might not go right with them.'”
“To have the letters pushed back and sat on for days and weeks while the UAE was obviously helping America negotiate Brittney Griner’s released — it’s obvious that the department did not want to antagonize the UAE during this diplomatic process,” Lonergan said.
According to the family, the close relationship between America and the UAE makes it less likely that Zack will be advocated for by the U.S.
Zack Shahin is still serving over 40 years of his sentence. His family stated that they didn’t think he would survive the next few weeks.
(Courtesy Shahin Family)
Fox News was informed by a spokesperson for the State Department that they remain in regular contact with the Shahins, and will continue to monitor Zack’s case. “provide all appropriate consular assistance.”
“We have no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” According to the spokesperson. “We take seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad and are providing all appropriate assistance.”
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After 15 years Three Presidential Administrations with little to no action, the family is still plagued with Zack’s absence every day.
“We’re all broken,” Ramy said. “I look at my mom, and she’s just hollow … she can’t function.”
“I try to put on a front and act strong for my family and my dad, but I feel like I lost a part of myself when he went in there,” He concluded.
You can watch the entire interview with Ramy Lonergan and Dangher here Click here.
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