Scot freed in Iraq after Qatari conviction arrest

A construction engineer who spent two months in custody in Iraq over a debt conviction in Qatar has been freed.

Brian Glendinning, 43, from Fife, did not know he was on an Interpol list as a wanted fugitive until he was detained in Basra on his way to a new job.

His family last month called on the UK government to intervene.

Campaign group Detained in Dubai said Mr Glendinning was released on Sunday and is expected to return home to Kincardine within days.

Last week, the bank which is owed the money issued a clearance note stamped by the authorities in Qatar saying they no longer wanted him extradited.

Mr Glendinning's brother John told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme the conditions in the Iraqi prison were "vile".

"Brian was held in a holding cell with up to 44 people - a mixture of terrorists, drug dealers, people who murdered their own father, using a shotgun," he said.

"And there was Brian Glendinning, never missed a day of school and arguably on a civil case and held in those conditions.

"The welfare was extremely low. Bottles of water were kept where rats were visible crawling over them. Brown water out the taps for the shower and food was very poor."

Mr Glendinning said that he has been picked up by British embassy staff and was now in a secure hotel.

"He's in the hotel. I've seen a photo of him with a beer and I'm so happy he's free."

"To see his name come up on my phone, it is hard to put into words how that felt because I have been dreaming of that."

It is hoped he will be back in Fife as soon as possible.

In 2017 Mr Glendinning, who is married with three children and one granddaughter, was sentenced in his absence to two years in prison for defaulting on a debt.

He had agreed to take out a £20,000 loan with his bank in Qatar while working in Doha in 2016, but was not able to keep up full repayments when he lost his job.

His family told how he was made redundant in 2017, while on sick leave at home in Scotland, but had kept in touch with the bank not realising he had been convicted of a crime.

He only discovered the arrest warrant meant he was on an Interpol red list when he was detained at Basra airport in September.

His brother sold his car to help pay his brother's legal bills, which within four weeks of his arrest had soared to £30,000.

A crowdfunding appeal set up by the family to help cover legal costs has since raised more than £30,700 of a £40,000 target.

The family also warned football fans going to the World Cup, which starts next Sunday, to be aware of the risks in traveling to Qatar.

Since Mr Glendinning's arrest they have been supported by Radha Stirling, the founder of Detained in Dubai and IPEX.

She has helped hundreds of people unfairly detained in or at risk of being extradited to the UAE and the Middle East.

These include Conor Howard, an engineer from Tranent, East Lothian. He was held in Greece in 2020, under an Interpol warrant, over a conviction for carrying a herb-grinder on a plane trip that stopped in Doha.

She told BBC Scotland Mr Glendinning had been "aggressively pursued" to take out a loan by his bank in Qatar, as is "standard practice" there.

Ms Stirling added: "The problem with Qatar banks is when they want to pursue someone on Interpol to put pressure on the family to pay the debt, they add legal fees and charges to get the amount over the Interpol threshold, which is €15,000, then wait for that person to be detained and put pressure on their parents or their families to sell assets or use their life's savings to bail out their child."

The Foreign and Commonwealth Development office confirmed it was providing consular support to Mr Glendinning.

John Glendinning said he believed it would take a long time for his brother to recover from his ordeal.

He said: "This won't be over for some time.

"This is going to have a huge impact on my brother's mental health. He was already nine weeks in there.

"It could be up to three months without employment and this is going to have a massive impact financially on his family and on his mental health."