Radha Stirling

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Radha Stirling
Radha Stirling Photo.png
BornNovember 1978
Florida, USA
Alma materBond University
OccupationHuman rights advocate
Website radhastirling.com

Radha Stirling is a human rights advocate, and lawyer, specializing in legal issues in the Middle East. She is the founder of the United Kingdom-based organisations Detained in Dubai, Due Process International and IPEX (Interpol & Extradition) Reform.

Contents

She founded Detained in Dubai, a justice organisation. in 2008 after her friend, Cat Le-Huy, was imprisoned in Dubai. Stirling campaigned for his release, [1] and subsequently received requests from other people in need of help, so thought there was a need for an organisation to assist victims of injustice. [2]

Stirling also campaigns for changes to the legal system of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and founded Due Process International [3] to campaign for reforms in the wider Middle East. Stirling has worked closely with Senators and Ministers of Parliament; her work with the Australian Parliament ensured provisions to safeguard citizens against human rights violations were included in their extradition treaty with the UAE. [4]

In March 2018, Stirling acted for Hervé Jaubert and Sheikha Latifa Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, after she made allegations of abuse and torture against her father, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. [5] Indian and UAE soldiers captured the two as they were in the Arabian Sea, near the coast of India. [6]

Early life

Stirling attended Mater Christi College, in Belgrave, Victoria; Yarra Valley Grammar; Box Hill TAFE and Bond University. [7]

Career

Stirling became active in the Middle East when Cat Le-Huy, a friend, was detained in Dubai. She led a campaign for his release in 2008, founding Detained in Dubai. [8] [9]

Stirling founded a campaign group, IPEX Reform, [10] specialising in extradition and Interpol cases and is an advocate for policy reform to prevent abuse of Interpol. Stirling has provided expert witness testimony in UAE and Qatar extradition cases. [11] [12]

in 2017, Stirling and barrister Ben Cooper of Doughty Street Chambers urged the British Irish Commercial Bar Association (BICBA) to cancel an upcoming conference with the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) following allegations of corruption and malpractice. [13] BICBA later cancelled their event. [14]

In 2023, Stirling was hired by Joe Biden's sexual assault accuser, Tara Reade. [15]

Lobbying

Stirling has worked alongside a number of political figures representing her clients and causes. In 2010, Senator Kroger and Stirling [16] successfully lobbied Australian parliament to install human rights safety provisions into the newly passed extradition treaty between Australia and the UAE. [17]

Stirling has worked with a number of British politicians including Priti Patel who advocated for Asa Hutchinson to be freed by the UAE, [17] [18] Kenny MacAskill for Conor Howard, [19] Emma Lewell-Buck who raised the case of Robert Urwin in Parliament, [20] [21] Crispin Blunt who supported Christopher Emms [22] and Canadian MP Richard Martel and Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Affairs Minister Pamela Goldsmith-Jones to successfully resolve 86 criminal cases against André Gauthier [23] in the Gold AE scandal. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to calls by Martel, [24] before his release from jail in Dubai. Stirling has worked with Lord Timothy Clement-Jones, [25] Baroness Janet Whitaker and Andy Slaughter, MP to call on the Foreign Office to increase their travel warnings and even sanction the UAE over the abuse of Brits in detention. [26] [27] In 2022, she worked with Douglas Chapman, MP to secure the freedom of Scotsman Brian Glendinning. [28]

Interpol and Extradition Reform

Stirling founded IPEX Reform, an NGO campaigning for reform of extradition laws and the red notice system. [29]

Stirling has criticised the United States. [30] Australia, [31] Qatar and the United Arab Emirates [32] [33] for abusing the Interpol red notice system or failing to protect their citizens from the abuse.

Criticism of the British Foreign Office

Stirling has called for increase travel warnings, saying "no-one would really be aware" of the severity of cyber-crime laws in the UAE, and the "FCO had failed to adequately warn tourists about them." [34] Over Billy Hood's detention, she said “These are not isolated incidents but repeat patterns and this is why Baroness Whitaker, Andy Slaughter and other MP’s have called on the foreign office to increase their travel warnings and even sanction the UAE over the abuse of Brits in detention." [35]

Stirling accused the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office of “working too strongly in cooperation with the UAE Government”. She criticised the FCO for providing advice to British travellers which “really falls short of the reality of the situation”. Stirling also worked with Billy Barclay, who said "that the embassy was advising the family against campaigning for his release. “In fact, it was only as a result of the campaign…that he is home today." [36]

Media appearances

Stirling has appeared in a number of documentaries and TV shows. [37] She has appeared on Good Morning Britain, [38] 60 Minutes, [39] ITV's DayBreak, [40] BBC's The Missing Princess, an Aljazeera documentary with Tamer Almisshal, [41] and the Sean Hannity show. [42]

Journalism

She hosts her own blog and is an author for the Jerusalem Report, [43] the Times of Israel, [44] the Independent [45] and Inside Arabia. and has written a book on lawyers in Dubai. She covers topics ranging from rape victims being charged with sex outside marriage, sanctions violations, the execution of Khashoggi, the Abraham Accords and worldwide ambivalence to Ukraine.

Ras Al Khaimah and hacking

Stirling has focussed on the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) and ruler Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi. Stirling criticized the ruler and alleged "massive corruption". [46]

A Citizen Lab and Facebook investigation found her clients were targeted by Israeli spy company, Bluehawk CI. Stirling suggested America should hold foreign states and corporations to account. [47]

In a separate incident, a fake philanthropist reached out to Radha Stirling which the Daily Beast found to be "a crude attempt to hack the attorney’s phone, that shows the lengths that some are apparently willing to go to seek information about lawsuits against Ras Al Khaimah." The hackers were seeking information on her RAK clients and litigations she was involved with as well as the Jordanian Princess Haya. They then tried to send her malware to surveil her phone [48]

Alcohol in the UAE

In August 2018, Stirling stated that "the UAE maintains a deliberately misleading facade that alcohol consumption is perfectly legal for visitors" after Swedish-Iranian national Ellie Holman, whom she assisted, was reportedly arrested for drinking one complimentary glass of wine aboard an Emirates flight from London to Dubai. She said “They will offer you alcohol on their airline, and arrest you at the airport for accepting it. This can only be regarded as such a deliberate attempt to misrepresent UAE rules on alcohol that it amounts to entrapment." [49]

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References

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  3. ↑ Delaney, James (18 October 2022). "Scot held over Qatar loan debt left 'isolated' in 'rat-infested cell'". STV News. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  4. ↑ Stirling, Radha (9 February 2011). SBS Radio Interview. Radha Stirling. Retrieved 3 July 2019. Timestamps of source content needed in support of appearing statements.[ full citation needed ]
  5. ↑ Bianca Britton (28 December 2018). "Sheikha Latifa: Former UN rights chief criticized". CNN. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
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  7. ↑ "The ARCH Magazine | Issue 4 | 2010 Summer". Issuu. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
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  9. ↑ Radha Stirling interview with Channel 9 on Cat Le-Huy's arbitrary arrest in Dubai in 2008, August 2021, retrieved 6 November 2022
  10. ↑ "Scots father held in Iraq prison over alleged debt released, pressure group says". www.shropshirestar.com. 13 November 2022. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
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  13. ↑ Staff Writers (27 February 2017). "BICBA urged to cancel arbitration seminar in Dubai". Irish Legal News. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  14. ↑ "BICBA urged to cancel arbitration seminar in Dubai". Scottish Legal News. 27 February 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  15. ↑ Biden accuser Tara Reade & Interpol expert Radha Stirling talk to the Hill Rising: Washington DC . Retrieved 15 May 2024– via www.youtube.com.
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  34. ↑ "British woman faces Dubai jail over Facebook 'horse' insult". BBC News. 7 April 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
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  38. ↑ Good Morning Britain TV with Radha Stirling, Susanna Reid & Ben Shephard on Billy Hood case, 15 October 2021, retrieved 12 November 2022
  39. ↑ "60 Minutes: The incredible story about a missing princess". www.9news.com.au. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  40. ↑ ITV1 DayBreak British Death in Police Custody with Radha Stirling, 22 April 2011, retrieved 12 November 2022
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  45. ↑ "Shocked that a woman was arrested for reporting rape in Dubai? I'm not". The Independent. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  46. ↑ MarketScreener (2 February 2021). "RAK Ceramics Bangladesh : UAE 'asks' Bangladesh to freeze assets of RAKIA CEO Khater Massaad | MarketScreener". www.marketscreener.com. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  47. ↑ Rawnsley, Adam (16 December 2021). "'Violent in Its Psychological Effects': Inside the Dark World of Cyber Spies-for-Hire". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  48. ↑ Rawnsley, Adam (6 April 2021). "Israeli Snoop-for-Hire Posed as a Fox News Journalist for a Spy Operation". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 15 November 2022.
  49. ↑ "Woman arrested with daughter in Dubai over drinking wine is released". The Guardian. 11 August 2018.
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