‘I was thrown in jail with al-Qaeda terrorists over a £4,000 debt’

Published

2 years ago

July 20, 2023

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“I am being held at the airport. Please don’t worry too much,” the message read. “I think I will be okay. But who knows?” Kimberley Glendinning won’t forget the moment she read those words. “My heart actually missed a beat,” she says, her voice quavering.

In September 2022, Kimberley’s husband, Brian, was on his way to a job in Iraq. He’d worked in the oil industry for years, often abroad. She was used to it.

So when he left their home in Kincardine, Scotland, she was expecting him to check in during his stopover in Dubai, and again on arrival in Basra. His message from Dubai was cheerful. But when he landed in Basra – everything changed. Brian had been detained because of an Interpol Red Notice.

“It was horrible,” Kimberley says.

Brian, who is 44, has three children with Kimberley. Nobody knew when or how he would be released. He was moved from Basra to a prison in the capital Baghdad where he was able to convince the prison guards to let him call home occasionally, but his family never knew when the phone would ring.

The Red Notice was uploaded to Interpol by Qatar, and dates back about five years to when Brian was living and working there as an oil engineer. He had taken out a bank loan and was working and paying it off until he became ill, left Qatar and lost his job.

Back in the UK, Brian says he contacted the bank to try and figure out a repayment plan. But he had paid most of it off and figured he would settle it eventually. In the meantime, the bank took him to court and that court issued a warrant for his arrest, and made a request for a Red Notice through Interpol.

Brian’s prison conditions in Baghdad, where he spent the majority of his time, were poor. The toilet was an open drain in the corner of a cell which he shared with 42 people, some of them hardened criminals. He had to pay some of them for protection.

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“In his words, they were al Qaeda terrorists. People who have murdered their own father,” says John Glendinning, Brian’s brother who dropped everything to help coordinate his release. “And Brian’s in for about the last £4-5,000 of a loan. It doesn’t make sense.”

Kimberley was equally stunned. Her husband is a good guy, she says, and has never been in trouble before. Her mind kept racing with dark thoughts about what he might be going through. She was afraid that even if she did get her husband back – he might never be the same again.

“Brian said to me that there’s things that he’s seen in that cell… he never thought he’d see in his lifetime.”

Representatives of the Qatari government and the national bank were approached for comment and have not responded.

Lives can be ruined

Most people don’t know that you can be locked up in a country you’ve never been to for a small amount of debt you owe in a country you don’t live in anymore. Most people with a Red Notice have no idea until they try to cross a border. But Brian’s story isn’t as unusual as it sounds.

About 20,000 Interpol notices are issued each year – acting as digital wanted posters which help police forces fight cross-border crime, and find fugitives. The notices are uploaded to a central database accessible to police in 195 countries.

When the notice system works, it helps capture people wanted for the most serious crimes: murder, drug trafficking, sexual exploitation, terrorism, money laundering. We don’t know exactly how many people are actually arrested on these notices each year, but data from 2016 suggests that the figure is in the low thousands.

When the system breaks down, it is vulnerable to abuse by authoritarian governments tracking dissidents, business people seeking leverage, powerful people settling scores, and even banks collecting debt.

According to the available data these are a small minority of all Red Notices.

But for each person the consequences can be devastating: families separated, businesses fallen apart, freedoms taken away.

In short, lives can be ruined.

The Uyghur activist

Zeynure Hasan hasn’t seen her husband, Idris, a Uyghur activist who lived in exile in Istanbul, for two years. The couple’s three children are growing up without their father.

“I am angry,” Zeynure told us. “My children ask every day: where is my dad?”

Idris is a computer scientist who spread the word about China’s treatment of his people. Human rights groups have called China’s treatment of Uyghurs a genocide. The Chinese authorities accused Idris of what they call “terrorism”.

He was arrested at an airport in Morocco, after China requested a Red Notice through Interpol. Although Interpol quickly cancelled the notice, admitting that it was in breach of its own rules against political, religious and racial persecution, it was too late. Idris was already in a Moroccan prison. Despite claiming asylum, he is still in prison and fighting against extradition to China.

“If the Moroccan government send me to China, this would be equal to death for me,” Idris told us on the phone from prison, where he’s in solitary confinement. “Maybe I am forever in prison. I cannot see my children and my family – forever.”

Authorities in China and Morocco were approached for comment.

Talking to Interpol

Interpol is a membership organisation for the world’s police forces. It was founded in the wake of the First World War, when the world powers came together to combat cross-border crime. As global travel has become easier, and technology more sophisticated, fighting international crime is harder than ever. Interpol will celebrate its 100th anniversary later this year, and the challenges it faces have never been greater.

“If a murderer is on the run, time matters. It’s a time-sensitive thing. Somebody can jump on a plane in a few hours, be somewhere else and commit the next crime. So we need to act fast,” says Interpol’s Secretary General, Jurgen Stock.

The Red Notice system is the cornerstone of Interpol’s toolkit. A police force in one country can issue a Red Notice request to Interpol for a fugitive. Interpol then pins that Red Notice to an internal message board visible to police around the world. Each country then acts on the information according to their own protocols. These can vary significantly. Some countries don’t generally act on them, others treat them as if they were arrest warrants.

Despite Interpol’s own guidelines saying that notices can’t be actioned if they have political, ethnic, military or religious intent, it’s clear that some of this nature are still getting through.

Stock took the helm in 2014 and will leave office next year. To combat abuses of Red Notices, he created a new task force to check them prior to circulation and beefed up the review council that investigates the worst cases. Stock sees his Red Notice reforms as defining his legacy.

But cases are still slipping through the net, and human rights lawyers and advocates claim the system is open to error and abuse.

In an interview at Interpol’s French headquarters, Stock described the Red Notice system as “very robust” but admitted it can break down, decrying every abuse as “one case too many”.

The organisation has improved its transparency under Jurgen Stock, but it is difficult to draw conclusions about the success of his reforms within the notice system from the available data.

The Secretary General isn’t willing to be drawn on the specifics of any individual cases, and won’t name the countries with the worst track records. Instead he points to the challenge of ensuring cooperation between countries with very different legal systems, who are sometimes locked in thorny diplomatic relations, and occasionally even at war with each other.

He also defends the Red Notice system as a whole, for its “unique capability” for catching the world’s most wanted international fugitives.

“The percentage of international-related organised crime and terrorism is increasing all around the world – that makes this a mechanism only Interpol can provide.”

‘I’ve lost my way’

Interpol’s limited public data shows that hundreds of people apply each year to have a Red Notice removed after encountering problems at international borders. In most of those cases, the notices are found to be non-compliant with Interpol’s rules. For example, in 2021, about 300 non-compliant notices were issued out of a total 24,000. A further 1,400 were weeded out before being published.

Experts like Ted Bromund, an Interpol historian, maintain that this figure only represents the tip of the iceberg. “If you see a cockroach on the floor of your kitchen and you stamp on it, what are the odds that there are no more cockroaches under the fridge, behind the range or in the walls?” he said.

Unlike many others, Brian’s nightmare did eventually end. He spent nine weeks in prison before striking a deal with the bank to get them to drop the notice. He had to pay more than £30,000, a sum far larger than the original debt. But he had a supportive family and assistance from the British government.

There are very few countries around the world where a relatively small amount of unpaid bank debt would result in imprisonment. But Interpol, inadvertently, provides the tools for countries to “export their justice system” abroad, according to Radha Sterling, an advocate who has helped the Glendinning family navigate his detention.

“Interpol is their bypass, it allows them to export their justice worldwide at the click of a button,” she told us.

Radha runs Detained in Dubai, an organisation that advocates for people detained abroad. Interpol notice cases are an increasing part of her workload. She has seen hundreds of clients‘ lives change beyond recognition.

“A lot of the time the Interpol notice is the punishment,” she says. “It’s a method of state harassment.”

Brian’s return home hasn’t been easy. It’s clear that his experience has shaken him deeply.

“I’ve lost my way,” he said in his first interview since returning from Iraq. “I had a plan, a route that I was going down. I’m wondering how to get back on that path.”

While he has returned to work, he feels a deep sense of dread at the thought of getting on a plane – even for a family holiday. “I’m always thinking, something bad is going to happen to me.”

For Brian, there are enduring questions.

“I just hope one day that I’ll wake up in the morning and I can’t even remember it. I just want it to go away,” he said.

“Will I ever get over it? Will I ever put it behind me?”

World

Donald Trump announces sweeping global trade tariffs – including 10% on UK imports

Published

2 hours ago

April 3, 2025

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Donald Trump announces sweeping global trade tariffs - including 10% on UK imports

Donald Trump has announced a 10% trade tariff on all imports from the UK – as he unleashed sweeping tariffs across the globe.

Speaking at a White House event entitled “Make America Wealthy Again”, the president held up a chart detailing the worst offenders – which also showed the new tariffs the US would be imposing.

“This is Liberation Day,” he told a cheering audience of supporters, while hitting out at foreign “cheaters”.

Follow live: Trump tariffs latest

He claimed “trillions” of dollars from the “reciprocal” levies he was imposing on others’ trade barriers would provide relief for the US taxpayer and restore US jobs and factories.

Mr Trump said the US has been “looted, pillaged, raped, plundered” by other nations.

His first tariff announcement was a 25% duty on all car imports from midnight – 5am on Thursday, UK time.

Mr Trump confirmed the European Union would face a 20% reciprocal tariff on all other imports. China’s rate was set at 34%.

The UK’s rate of 10% was perhaps a shot across the bows over the country’s 20% VAT rate, though the president’s board suggested a 10% tariff imbalance between the two nations.

It was also confirmed that further US tariffs were planned on some individual sectors including semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and critical mineral imports.

The ramping up of duties promises to be painful for the global economy. Tariffs on steel and aluminium are already in effect.

The UK government signalled there would be no immediate retaliation.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “We will always act in the best interests of UK businesses and consumers. That’s why, throughout the last few weeks, the government has been fully focused on negotiating an economic deal with the United States that strengthens our existing fair and balanced trading relationship.

“The US is our closest ally, so our approach is to remain calm and committed to doing this deal, which we hope will mitigate the impact of what has been announced today.

“We have a range of tools at our disposal and we will not hesitate to act. We will continue to engage with UK businesses including on their assessment of the impact of any further steps we take.

“Nobody wants a trade war and our intention remains to secure a deal. But nothing is off the table and the government will do everything necessary to defend the UK’s national interest.”

The EU has pledged to retaliate, which is a problem for Northern Ireland.

Should that scenario play out, the region faces the prospect of rising prices because all its imports are tied to EU rules under post-Brexit trading arrangements.

It means US goods shipped to Northern Ireland would be subject to the EU’s reprisals.

The impact of a trade war would be expected to be widely negative, with tit-for-tat tariffs risking job losses, a ramping up of prices and cooling of global trade.

Research for the Institute for Public Policy Research has suggested more than 25,000 direct jobs in the UK car manufacturing industry alone could be at risk from the tariffs on car exports to the US.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) had said the tariff costs could not be absorbed by manufacturers and may lead to a review of output.

The tariffs now on UK exports pose a big risk to growth and the so-called headroom Chancellor Rachel Reeves was forced to restore to the public finances at the spring statement, risking further spending cuts or tax rises ahead to meet her fiscal rules.

A member of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), David Miles, told MPs on Tuesday that US tariffs at 20% or 25% maintained on the UK for five years would “knock out all the headroom the government currently has”.

But he added that a “very limited tariff war” that the UK stays out of could be “mildly positive”.

He said: “There’s a bit of trade that will get diverted to the UK, and some of the exports from China, for example, that would have gone to the US, they’ll be looking for a home for them in the rest of the world.

“And stuff would be available in the UK a bit cheaper than otherwise would have been. So there is one, not central scenario at all, which is very, very mildly potentially positive to the UK. All the other ones which involve the UK facing tariffs are negative, and they’re negative to very different extents.”

World

Israel announces military operation expanding in Gaza to seize ‘large areas’

Published

17 hours ago

April 2, 2025

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Israel announces military operation expanding in Gaza to seize 'large areas'

Israel is beginning a major expansion of its military operation in Gaza and will seize large areas of the territory, the country’s defence minister said.

Israel Katz said in a statement that there would be a large scale evacuation of the Palestinian population from fighting areas.

In a post on X, he wrote: “I call on the residents of Gaza to act now to remove Hamas and return all the hostages. This is the only way to end the war.”

He said the offensive was “expanding to crush and clean the area of terrorists and terrorist infrastructure and capture large areas that will be added to the security zones of the State of Israel”.

The expansion of Israel’s military operation in Gaza deepens its renewed offensive.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that had begun in January ended in March as Israel launched various air strikes on targets across Gaza.

The deal had seen the release of dozens of hostages and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, but collapsed before it could move to phase two, which would have involved the release of all hostages and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had already issued evacuation warnings to Gazans living around the southern city of Rafah and towards the city of Khan Yunis, telling them to move to the al Mawasi area on the shore, which was previously designated a humanitarian zone.

Israeli forces have already set up a significant buffer zone within Gaza, having expanded an area around the edge of the territory that had existed before the war, as well as a large security area in the so-called Netzarim corridor through the middle of Gaza.

This latest conflict began when Hamas launched an attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking around 250 hostages.

The ensuing Israeli offensive has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

Aid group Doctors Without Borders warned on Wednesday that Israel’s month-long siege of Gaza means some critical medications are now short in supply and are running out, leaving Palestinians at risk of losing vital healthcare.

“The Israeli authorities’ have condemned the people of Gaza to unbearable suffering with their deadly siege,” said Myriam Laaroussi, the group’s emergency coordinator in Gaza.

“This deliberate infliction of harm on people is like a slow death; it must end immediately.”

World

‘Liberation day is here’: But what will it mean for global trade?

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2025

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'Liberation day is here': But what will it mean for global trade?

“Liberation day” was due to be on 1 April. But Donald Trump decided to shift it by a day because he didn’t want anyone to think it was an April fool.

It is no joke for him and it is no joke for governments globally as they brace for his tariff announcements.

It is stunning how little we know about the plans to be announced in the Rose Garden of the White House later today.

It was telling that we didn’t see the President at all on Tuesday. He and all his advisers were huddled in the West Wing, away from the cameras, finalising the tariff plans.

Follow the events of Liberation Day live as they unfold

Three key figures are central to it all.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is the so-called ‘measured voice’. A former hedge fund manager, he has argued for targeted not blanket tariffs.

Peter Navarro is Trump’s senior counsellor for trade and manufacturing. A long-time aide and confidante of the president, he is a true loyalist and a firm believer in the merits of tariffs.

His economic views are well beyond mainstream economic thought – precisely why he appeals to Trump.

‘Stop that crap’: Trump adviser Peter Navarro reacts to Sky News correspondent’s question over tariffs

The third key character is Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary and the biggest proponent of the full-throttle liberation day tariff juggernaut.

The businessman, philanthropist, Trump fundraiser and billionaire (net worth ranging between $1bn and $2bn) has been among the closest to Trump over the past 73 days of this presidency – frequently in and out of the West Wing.

If anything goes wrong, observers here in Washington suspect Trump will make Lutnick the fall guy.

What are Donald Trump’s tariffs, what is ‘liberation day’ and how does it all affect the UK?

And what if it does all go wrong? What if Trump is actually the April fool?

“It’s going to work…” his press secretary said when asked if it could all be a disaster, driving up the cost of living for Americans and creating global economic chaos.

“The president has a brilliant team who have been studying these issues for decades and we are focussed on restoring the global age of America…” Karoline Leavitt said.

Dancing to the president’s tune

My sense is that we should see “liberation day” not as the moment it’s all over in terms of negotiations for countries globally as they try to carve out deals with the White House. Rather it should be seen as the start.

Trump, as always, wants to be seen as the one calling the shots, taking control, seizing the limelight. He wants the world to dance to his tune. Today is his moment.

But beyond today, alongside the inevitable tit-for-tat retaliation, expect to see efforts by nations to seek carve-outs and to throw bones to Trump; to identify areas where trade policies can be tweaked to placate the president.

Even small offerings which change little in a material sense could give Trump the chance to spin and present himself as the winning deal maker he craves to be.

One significant challenge for foreign governments and their diplomats in Washington has been engaging the president himself with proposals he might like.

Negotiations take place with a White House team who are themselves unsure where the president will ultimately land. It’s resulted in unsatisfactory speculative negotiations.

Too much faith placed in the ‘special relationship’?

The UK believes it’s in a better position than most other countries globally. It sits outside the EU giving it autonomy in its trade policy, its deficit with the US is small, and Trump loves Britain.

It’s true too that the UK government has managed to accelerate trade conversations with the White House on a tariff-free trade partnership. Trump’s threats have forced conversations that would normally sit in the long grass for months.

Yet, for now, the conversations have yielded nothing firm. That’s a worry for sure. Did Keir Starmer have too much faith in the ‘special relationship’?

Downing Street will have identified areas where they can tweak trade policy to placate Trump. Cars maybe? Currently US cars into the UK carry a 10% tariff. Digital services perhaps?

US food? Unlikely – there are non-tariff barriers on US food because the consensus seems to be that chlorinated chicken and the like isn’t something UK consumers want.

Easier access to UK financial services maybe? More visas for Americans?

For now though, everyone is waiting to see what Trump does before they either retaliate or relent and lower their own market barriers.