Skip to main content

IHR-Advisors on the BBC London News on 14 July 2022

The family of Ryan Cornelius were interviewed on BBC London News calling on the British Government to secure his release from prison in the UAE. Ryan was arrested in Dubai in 2008 has been held in custody ever since.

Following submissions filed by IHR-Advisors on his behalf, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found that Ryan’s fundamental rights have been breached and that his ongoing detention is arbitrary and in contravention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

You can read a transcript of the BBC London News lunchtime segment here and watch clips from both the lunchtime and evening news segments below.

Victoria Hollins reporting from the BBC studio:

The family of a man who has been held in prison in Dubai for 14 years are calling for more to be done to help secure his release. Ryan Cornelius was sentenced to 10 years for fraud over a bank loan for a property deal, but after serving his sentence, he was given another 20 years in jail. His family and supporters have been outside the Foreign Office this morning.

Guy Lynn reporting from outside the Foreign Office:

The case of Ryan Cornelius goes beyond, and is entirely different, to many of the cases that we often hear about people who are stuck in jails in Dubai. The United Nations have now called for the immediate release of Ryan Cornelius.

His wife, Heather Cornelius tells Guy Lynn:

“It’s more than anybody can take. We are all desperate to get Ryan home. We really do need the help now of the British government. I don’t see how else we’re going to get him home.” 

His son, Josh Cornelius, says:

“Every year my birthday, or my dad’s birthday, it doesn’t feel like a celebration. It feels like another year that he’s lost out on my life, another year that I’m losing time with him.”

 

Guy Lynn reports:

“We have a response in from the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office this afternoon who say:

‘We have provided support to a British man detained in the UAE, and will continue to do so. We have been in close contact with the UAE authorities to ensure the welfare of all British people in UAE prisons is met. They also say they are studying closely the opinion of the UN and have raised this with the UAE.’”

This programme originally aired live on BBC London News at 13:30 GMT on 14 July 2022.

This programme originally aired live on BBC London News at 18:30 GMT on 14 July 2022.

Contact details

If you would like to speak with us about our areas of practice or anything else please contact us via the form linked below.

Contact Us

About the Authors

Ben Keith Barrister

Ben Keith is a co-founder of IHR Advisors and an internationally recognised lawyer specialising in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges, extradition, international human rights law and asylum. He is the co-author of Interpol, Law and Practice (Sweet & Maxwell, 2026). He is co-editor of Red Notice Monitor, the leading public resource on INTERPOL Red Notice abuse and the practice of INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files.

Ben represents clients across every region in INTERPOL Red Notice and Diffusion challenges before the Commission for the Control of Files. He has secured the deletion of Notices issued by states including Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Belarus, Iran and Venezuela, in cases involving journalists, opposition political figures, refugees, human rights defenders and business figures targeted in commercial and political disputes. He is the author of the INTERPOL chapter in The Practitioner’s Guide to Global Investigations (Global Investigations Review, 2026).

Ben has appeared as counsel before the European Court of Human Rights Grand Chamber, the UK Supreme Court, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and the UN Committee Against Torture. He is a member of the List of Counsel for the International Criminal Court and the Kosovo Specialist Chambers in The Hague.

He regularly acts for politically exposed persons, journalists, human rights defenders and high net worth individuals facing extradition, INTERPOL Notices and other instruments of transnational repression. He provides legal commentary to national and international media including the Guardian, The Times, the Financial Times, The Telegraph, the BBC, Sky News, CNN, CBS 60 Minutes, The Economist, Politico and Al Jazeera.

Ben is ranked Star Individual in Chambers and Partners and a leading individual in The Legal 500 for extradition. He practises from 5 St Andrew’s Hill in London.

View Ben Keith's profile
Rhys Davies Barrister

Rhys Davies is a co-founder of IHR Advisors and an internationally recognised lawyer specialising in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges, international criminal law and international human rights law. He is the co-author of Interpol, Law and Practice (Sweet & Maxwell, 2026). He is co-editor of Red Notice Monitor, the leading public resource on INTERPOL Red Notice abuse and the practice of INTERPOL’s Commission for the Control of Files.

Rhys co-authored the report Undue Influence: the UAE and INTERPOL with Sir David Calvert-Smith, examining the systemic misuse of INTERPOL’s Notice and Diffusion systems by the United Arab Emirates and the implications for INTERPOL’s governance. He represents clients in INTERPOL Red Notice challenges before the Commission for the Control of Files, with particular focus on cases involving Middle Eastern and Central Asian states, and on the position of refugees, journalists and political dissidents targeted through INTERPOL by their states of origin.

Rhys has significant experience of in-country legal advice and assistance, most recently in the West Bank, and a specific interest in the Middle East. He is a member of the List of Counsel for the International Criminal Court, the Kosovo Specialist Chambers, and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. He regularly speaks at, and chairs, events at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva and at the House of Commons on matters of international law.

Rhys is the author of numerous articles on INTERPOL Red Notice practice and on justice in the Middle East, and is in demand as a commentator on international human rights. He provides legal commentary to national and international media including The Times, the Guardian, the Independent, the Financial Times, CBS 60 Minutes, Sky News, City AM and Al Jazeera.

Rhys is recommended as a leading individual in The Legal 500. He practises from Temple Garden Chambers in London and The Hague.

View Rhys Davies's profile