A gay man has avoided extradition to Dubai – where homosexuality is outlawed – after a London court ruled there was a risk he would be tortured and was unlikely to receive a fair trial on theft charges.

In a strongly worded ruling, a judge at Westminster magistrates court said the United Arab Emirates had not given the court sufficient assurances that Michael Halliday’s human rights would be respected.

In district judge Jeremy Coleman’s ruling, which sets a significant precedent, he said: “The trial, treatment and conditions of those accused or convicted of criminal offences in the UAE is still the subject of complaint and is often alleged to fall well below the required standards … Taking into account Mr Halliday’s own circumstances, I cannot be satisfied that he would not be at significant risk.

“The UAE remains adamant that it will not allow prison inspections because the extradition treaty makes such inspections both unnecessary and inappropriate.”

Lawyers for Michael Halliday, 32, who is from the Midlands, had argued that because homosexuality is a crime in Dubai, he would be punished disproportionately.

The theft allegation related to more than £118,000 said to have disappeared from a safe at a department store where Halliday had worked. He has consistently denied the accusation.



Lawyers for Michael Halliday argued that because homosexuality is a crime in Dubai he would be punished ‘disproportionately’. Photograph: Michael Halliday

The court heard that over the past five years there have been 43 cases of complaints by British nationals of torture or mistreatment within the UAE justice system. Of those, 37 related to British nationals detained in Dubai and 19 of them alleged they had suffered physical beatings.

Discharging Halliday, Coleman said that he did not believe Halliday had been falsely accused of the crime because he was gay. The judge said: “It could be argued that by going to live and work in another country, individuals have to accept the attitudes of that country and the law and practices of the criminal justice system.”

In a statement issued after the decision, Halliday said: “When I left Dubai in 2013, I had no reason to believe that the authorities would pursue me on my return. I worked for 13 months as an operations manager in the retail industry. I had to leave for family reasons.

“I have been through a distressing eight months of uncertainty not knowing if I would face extradition to UAE to face accusations that I firmly believe I can prove I am not guilty of. It is not the clearing of my name that I feared.

“It was more a serious question as to whether there was a realistic prospect of me being able to prove my innocence at trial given the UAE’s unfair justice system [has a] poor track record in [its] treatment of foreign prisoners and particularly members of the LGBT community.

“Thankfully, after today’s outcome, I can now continue my life without fear of the prospect of extradition.”

Halliday’s representatives – Jonathan Black of BSB Solicitors and Ben Cooper of Doughty Street chambers – welcomed the decision. The UAE’s extradition application was brought by the Crown Prosecution Service. All extradition cases in England and Wales are handled by Westminster magistrates court.

