Ohio Air Force vet, brother sentenced to 4 months in 'notorious' Dubai prison after yacht drinking incident
Two Ohio brothers, one an Air Force veteran, were sentenced to spend four months in a Dubai prison after an incident involving drinking on a yacht in June, a crime in the United Arab Emirates.
Radha Stirling, CEO of human rights organization Detained in Dubai and an advocate for Joseph and Joshua Lopez, alleges the brothers were drugged and robbed on the same night as the drinking that landed them in jail, and they are calling on U.S. lawmakers, including Republican Ohio Sen. JD Vance, for help. The drugging allegations have yet to be officially confirmed.
"Sen. Vance’s office has been in constant communication with the State Department, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the United States and the constituents’ family," Vance spokesperson Parker Magid told Fox News Digital. "Sen. Vance is monitoring the as-yet-unresolved legal proceedings carefully."
Stirling said the Lopez brothers are appealing their sentence, alleging they were "targeted by scammers while on vacation in Dubai."
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"While local criminals target tourists with what appears to be the support of law enforcement, Dubai is far from the ‘safe tourist destination’ it’s marketed as," Stirling said.
The State Department told Fox News Digital in a statement it is aware of the Lopez brothers' recent arrests.
"We take our role in assisting U.S. citizens abroad seriously and are monitoring the situation," a spokesperson said. "Due to privacy and other considerations, we have no further comment at this time. U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the foreign countries they visit or reside in, even when those laws differ from U.S. law."
Neither the UAE Embassy nor the UAE tourist police responded to inquiries from Fox News Digital.
The State Department has a Level 2 travel advisory listed for the UAE due to threats of terrorism. The State Department's website for the UAE notes that alcohol is "very limited" in certain private areas, and "[p]ublic drunkenness and driving under the influence, regardless of one’s blood alcohol content level, are considered very serious offenses."
"Persons arrested on alcohol-related offenses are regularly detained for many days as they await a court hearing. Penalties may include hefty jail sentences, substantial fines and, for Muslims (even those holding U.S. citizenship), lashings," the website states.
The State Department also notes the country's "strict" laws on drugs, public decency, photography, social media usage and LGBTQ-related activities or preferences.
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Stirling said if the brothers' appeal is unsuccessful, Joseph, a veteran and 24-year-old father, and Joshua "face months in Dubai jails notorious for human rights abuses."
"Visitors are flocking into Dubai and facing the most ridiculous charges for alleged crimes they haven’t even committed. Last year, we saw Tierra Allen targeted by a rental car company, Elizabeth de las Santos targeted by an immigration officer and Peter Clark detained for residual hashish found in his blood that he’d legally smoked in Las Vegas weeks before flying," Stirling said.
She is pressing the United States to "increase travel warnings" for Americans going to Dubai.
"Not only will they be robbed and extorted, but they’ll usually end up in prison too," she said.
Fox News' Mollie Markowitz contributed to this report.