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Drinking Alcohol on Board Emirates Flight to Dubai - Wise?

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Old Aug 11, 2018, 8:30 am
  #46  
 
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Originally Posted by GUWonder


It doesn’t necessarily matter where she is from, but she’s not born yesterday. But given her and her own family history, she should have known better how things can go with passport control and other governmental types in a position to be little Napoleons of sort. It’s not unique to DXB or the region.

I agree. She wasn't born yesterday. She should have known she was entering a despotic country where women don't have many rights. That was my initial point wondering why women still go there.

Yeah, it happened there, not anywhere else.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 8:31 am
  #47  
 
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Originally Posted by GUWonder


if she’s a working dentist in the UK, how does she have so much time to play tourist in Dubai so as to exceed that limit? Or was she also working illegally in the UAE?

Given she may also be an Iranian citizen — whether she claims it or not, Iranian citizenship can be hard for some to legally surrender — who knows if that was part of why she faced problems at DXB. While
DXB is still doing lots of business with Iran and Iranian nationals, encountering anti-Iranian Emiratis is part of the scene from time to time.
Now its her fault for having too much vacation time? I agree it is her fault. But its not how much vacation time she has, but rather where she chooses to spend it.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 8:51 am
  #48  
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I was questioining whether or not she had overstayed. I was also questioning what the purpose was for her trip and if she had previous immigration violations there. Most people working a dental practice as a dentist and claiming to be financially wiped out by not being back home for work don’t have 90+ days of vacation to take abroad in a 180 day period, unless it’s for work abroad.

For me, the facts matter the most. So seeking answers to questions like I asked is a natural part of trying to understand what in fact happened and to interrupt narratives that may mislead and lack perspective that rests upon actual facts more than upon prejudice.

Originally Posted by bitterproffit
Thanks. I cannot visit. I am gay and homosexuality is illegal in your paradise.
You can visit, if you want. Homosexuality is not a crime there. Engaging in homosexual or heterosexual extramarital sexual acts and being caught for such is where criminal charges may begin there.

The rights of people vary by country, especially when a foreigner in a country not of one’s citizenship. The rights which I have in Sweden or in the UK aren’t the same as I have in the US, and they are materially less. This Iranian-Swedish dentist from the UK isn’t clueless about the rights of people varying by country and that foreigners don’t have the same rights and treatment as the citizens of the potential host country. When seeking admission into a foreign country, despotic or otherwise, a person should know that going verbally ballistic on law enforcement and filming against the rules may get a person in trouble. She’s been given a hard lesson, whether or not she learned anything from it, and she should keep it in mind when dealing with passport control in countries such as the US, Thailand, UAE, Australia, China, Brazil, Mexico, and even oh so sweet Canada.

Last edited by GUWonder; Aug 11, 2018 at 9:01 am
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 8:57 am
  #49  
 
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We are getting off topic GUWonder, but I appreciate your comments. Suffice it to say, I’m not going to split hairs about whether my existence in the Middle East depends upon whether I choose to have sex or not.

We agree the woman was out of line, we simply disagree as to why. I will leave it there. I think the discourse has run its course. Thank you for your civility though.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 9:16 am
  #50  
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Some reports say she was going to the UAE a lot, had been working there and charging various clients for the procedures she was performing. Doesn’t sound like your run of the mill foreign tourist on vacation in Dubai.

“She was told in a telephone call today that she can leave at any time and will not face any charges, and received an apology from the Dubai Government.

The Dubai Government have also said they will pay for the flights home. Sources in the UAE have said her release came after the personal intervention of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed, the Mail Online reported.”

Sounds like she has some friends in high places and isn’t your run of the mill tourist in Dubai.

Last edited by TWA884; Aug 12, 2018 at 9:44 pm Reason: Merge consecutive posts by the same member for readability
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 10:46 am
  #51  
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http://www.mediaoffice.ae/en/media-c...-of-dubai.aspx

has some interesting info. And it’s accurate that her Swedish passport had expired.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 3:35 pm
  #52  
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Originally Posted by GUWonder
“She was told in a telephone call today that she can leave at any time and will not face any charges, and received an apology from the Dubai Government.

The Dubai Government have also said they will pay for the flights home. Sources in the UAE have said her release came after the personal intervention of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed, the Mail Online reported.”

Sounds like she has some friends in high places and isn’t your run of the mill tourist in Dubai.
Of course they did because the optics on this were looking horrible. There was no reason for this to escalate all they needed to do was deport her on the next flight back and ban her from returning.
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 7:58 pm
  #53  
 
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Because one country doesn't share entirely one's values doesn't mean that this country is living in the 19th century. On the contrary, lacking openess to understand its history, its culture, and its current dynamics is living in the times of inquisition and evangelisation.

As a person who knows well the Middle-East, I cannot believe that 1/ she was mistreated only because she was a woman, 2/ she was jailed only because she had had a small drink. In neighboring countries ? Why not. In Dubai ? No.
On the other hand, I can easily imagine someone taken into custody because he was rude, he made a bad gesture, or he was filming where it is strictly forbidden.
As many posters have said, exactly the same anywhere else in the world.

Moreover, she is complaining that the living conditions were bad in jail. Well, that's the inherent nature of jail, a place made so that you don't want to come back.

To add oil on fire : the child is not from official marriage. Dubai officials missed that.


Oh, and I guess that the USA came out as the USA boasts itself as "the biggest democracy" and "the land of the free", which is ... a joke for some countries. (I know the US extremely well)
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Old Aug 11, 2018, 8:02 pm
  #54  
 
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off topic rants upthread not withstanding, she and her daughter are out. This link implies that carrier and country rules are not in sync

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...ne-is-released

Just be aware.
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Old Aug 12, 2018, 11:44 pm
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Perhaps next time she will check her passport expiry. Wonder how she is allowed into UK on an expired passport.
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Old Aug 13, 2018, 4:26 am
  #56  
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Originally Posted by :D!
What I would like to find out is why she apparently needed a visa, as it doesn't appear that she lives in the UAE. Under what circumstances would a tourist from the EU require a visa to visit the UAE?
A visa is required by most visitors. But for those carrying European passports, most will get a no fuss, no fee, visa on arrival. This could be a renewable 30-day visa (e.g. for UK) or a 6-month multiple entry visa, with a limit on the number of days to be spent in the UAE (Sweden).

There are variations: It depends what you are doing in UAE, the nature and timescale of your visit and previous visits. In general you are not permitted to carry out any type of work while visiting on these visas, even unpaid work.

So there are a number of ways the woman could have contravened the regulations governing entry.

One report suggests she produced a second, Iranian, passport to trump the contravention. Perhaps not the smartest move.

The alcohol consumption is something of a red herring, but could only exacerbate her case. If the matter was brought up, then it's likely something in her behaviour triggered the official's question. "Have you had a drink" really is not a routine question at the border
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 8:58 am
  #57  
 
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So a woman who was basically illegally living and working in Dubai got stopped at immigration for an expired passport and told she cannot enter and has to return to her origin airport. She decides to have a fit and starts filming the fit.

This sounds like a really stupid dentist who got busted for immigration issues. The UAE police certainly knew what she was doing there in the past, or at least they certainly knew she wasn't a tourist. Maybe she had a Saudi or other Arab sugar daddy, or just that she was illegally working as a dentist. Regardless, this was the time they decided to stop her.

The booze thing is total BS. As someone who's spent upwards of 300 nights in various pubs, restaurants and clubs across the UAE, including at outdoor events along the Creek, alcohol is most definitely not a problem. Not even in the more conservative emirates. You don't have to be in a compound like in Saudi Arabia to enjoy a beer or glass of wine. A friend of mine was arrested for drunk driving in Abu Dhabi and while the fine was pretty high, the process was the same as in the US. He spent the night in jail, got released the next day, went to court and paid the fine, had his UAE driving priviledges revoked, and life went on.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 10:10 am
  #58  
 
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I believe she was let go because that Dubai king didn't want any more publicity from Detained in Dubai. They've been after him after his daughter ran away and he along with the Indians managed to capture her from international waters.

If this dentist hadn't been let go, Detained in Dubai would have gone into overdrive and he needs them to keep a low profile for a while.
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 11:55 am
  #59  
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Originally Posted by JamesKidd
I believe she was let go because that Dubai king didn't want any more publicity from Detained in Dubai. They've been after him after his daughter ran away and he along with the Indians managed to capture her from international waters.

If this dentist hadn't been let go, Detained in Dubai would have gone into overdrive and he needs them to keep a low profile for a while.
I just read that story on their website. It's crazy! Why is his daughter treated like this? How did the US State Dept stand for a US-flagged vessel to be essentially subjected to piracy by two allies?
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Old Aug 14, 2018, 1:56 pm
  #60  
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Originally Posted by JamesKidd
I believe she was let go because that Dubai king didn't want any more publicity from Detained in Dubai. They've been after him after his daughter ran away and he along with the Indians managed to capture her from international waters.

If this dentist hadn't been let go, Detained in Dubai would have gone into overdrive and he needs them to keep a low profile for a while.
The DID business is in overdrive already. DID has backers who want them to be. If it wasn’t this incident, it would be another they would have to find.
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