Dubai is marketed as a glamorous playground for the rich. Tourists flock to shop, rent luxury vehicles and unwind at five-star resorts. But some are getting in trouble.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai says visitors are often caught up in predatory practices and become victims of extortion.
Reports say 29-year-old so-called TikTok influencer, Tierra Allen of Houston who is known on social media as the Sassy Trucker allegedly shouted, which is actually unlawful there if you're a woman.
Allen claims she was trying to retrieve her personal belongings from a rental car following an accident. She was not the driver. She claims the male rental car agent followed, intimidated and harassed her, which is when the alleged yelling occurred. Stirling says the employee then went to the police.
Stirling says Allen was told by the man the case would be dropped if she paid roughly $10,000.
Stirling says this is not an isolated case. "We had three Americans in the past few months who contacted us seeking help, but by the time they reached us they'd already paid $20,000 to a car rental agency that they did not owe just so they could get their passports back and leave the country. Otherwise they'd be stuck there for months and months in expensive hotels employing notoriously expensive lawyers (about $50,000 per case) and there's no guarantee they'd be found innocent. They could end up with a two year prison sentence."
Paying the agencies off keeps the cycle in motion.
Stirling says she speaks to Allen and her mother most days. Allen has been stuck in this bind, with no passport, for two months. She has not been detained. Stirling says a Dubai police station has been the subject of human rights violations.
Stirling has informed the Dubai tourism board and police. She says it's important for the US government to step up.
Recently an American citizen was detained for having residual marijuana in his bloodstream which he had smoked legally in Las Vegas prior to landing in Dubai. The US embassy stepped up and he was released promptly.
Stirling says Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee is in touch with the embassy in Allen's case. "It takes politicians in the United States to contact the US embassy because if they don't, the US embassy is much more likely to simply get a list of lawyers and with the citizen good luck."
Stirling says think twice before planning a trip to Dubai. "It's the most likely country for tourists to be arrested abroad or face legal troubles. If prosecuted, even the slightest violation like shouting or posting a photo the government doesn't like on Facebook can lead to a minimum of two years in detention."