A New York business arts student who touched an airport security guard on the arm during a strip search while they checked her medical waist band and left her half-naked has been sentenced to a year in prison in Dubai.
On July 14, Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos, a 21-year-old student at Lehman College in New York, and a companion were travelling from Istanbul to New York when they were arrested during a ten-hour layover at Dubai International Airport.
But after airport security became aware of a brace De Los Santos was wearing with underwiring on it, what she believed would be a brief visit to the UAE turned into a months-long nightmare. She informed the airport staff that she had just undergone surgery and was required to wear the surgical brace constantly.
She was taken to a private room and told to take off the brace, which left her feeling ‘violated’ and semi-naked. When she was finally given the all-clear to leave, she tried to put the brace back on alone but was unable to, so she ‘gently’ stroked one of the female customs officers’ arms to urge her friend to assist her.
De Los Santos refuted the female cops’ claims that he had “assaulted and insulted” them. Despite having paid a fine of AED 10,000 ($2,722), she was prohibited from returning home and was sentenced to a year in prison this week.
De Los Santos was given until August 24 to pay the fee, but instead of letting her leave, customs agents challenged the verdict. She has already been through a month-long ordeal and had to pay $50,000 to pay for housing in the pricey country as well as legal fees.
De Los Santos had to switch hotels since the middle of July while she awaited court appearances and received her punishment.
Uncertain of her actual location, De Los Santos feared being kept in the notorious Al Awir prison and not being allowed to leave the facility, according to Radha Stirling, CEO of the nonprofit organisation fighting for the young woman’s release.
On her behalf, the organisation had urgently intervened. Additionally, they urged authorities to put protections in place to stop future foreign visitors from being subjected to unjustified detention for an extended period of time.
People could be held in the UAE for years on spurious or petty charges, and the organisation wants to alert Americans about this. According to Stirling in a press statement, Dubai is “a dangerous place to visit.”
Elizabeth was subjected to humiliating, unpleasant, and humiliating searches when travelling from Istanbul to New York, but the horror hasn’t stopped, she claimed in part.
She was informed of facing a year in jail, but that if all “goes well,” she would just be held until she could arrange a trip out of the country.
She brought up the situation of Tierra Young Allen, a TikTok influencer who was detained for three months in the same nation earlier this year for ‘shouting’ at a parking lot employee.
One thing these Americans have in common, according to Stirling, is that they all continue to strongly advise other individuals to stay away from the area. They all regret the day they ever made the decision to travel to Dubai.
The student is believed to be thrilled to be returning to the US, where she will be reunited with her mother in New York after having her sentence commuted.
Despite having only received her sentence the day before, De Los Santos was informed by authorities that she would be sent to the US on Tuesday, according to a press statement from the non-profit advocacy group Detained in Dubai.
De Los Santos claimed that she attempted to notify security that she was wearing a brace with an underwire while going through her terrifying encounter inside the airport.
Due to the 21-year-old’s condition, there have been numerous appeals for her release, as well as advice for other travellers visiting the Middle Eastern country to exercise extra caution.
Detained in Dubai, a group that has pushed for her release has urged authorities to put protections in place to stop future foreign visitors from being unfairly and protractedly detained.
CEO Radha Stirling stated that the UAE is “a dangerous place to visit” and warned Americans that “people could end up detained there for years on bogus or minor charges.”
Travelling to the United Arab Emirates can turn into a nightmare, as Elizabeth Polanco De Los Santos demonstrated.
The tough restrictions in the desert paradise, famed for its glitz and glamour and favoured by a legion of influencers, have in the past resulted in tourists breaking them, according to Stirling, who described it as a possible “one-way ticket” to jail.
She said, “Tourists are vulnerable to vengeful, false, and unsupported allegations that could land them in infamous jails.”
They are susceptible to extortion techniques like those used by taxi drivers, rental car salespeople, and airport workers, among others. Many visitors may view a trip to Dubai as a one-way ticket to prison.
