Ex-corporal Andy Neal has been locked up in a Dubai prison since October after being wrongly being arrested on drugs charges
A British Army veteran who suffers from PTSD and has spent five months locked up in Dubai on drugs charges says he was subjected to a fake therapy session in an attempt to extract a confession.
Andy Neal, 44, a former corporal, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after a tour of Afghanistan before being locked up in the United Arab Emirates in October last year.
His family has been begging jailers to allow him to continue therapy, fearing he will suffer a major psychotic break otherwise, but say the treatment he got was actually a barely-disguised attempt to pressure him into confessing.
Mr Neal maintains his innocence and even prosecutors have admitted that there is no evidence against him, but have refused to let him go.
Sue Neal, Andy’s mother, told campaign group Detained in Dubai: ‘[Andy] met with the “psychiatrist” – if that’s what he really was – on Sunday.
‘They kept Andrew handcuffed and surrounded by aggressive guards and police for the whole time that the so called session lasted for.
‘The doctor guy kept asking Andy about the drugs case he is falsely charged with instead of trying to help him with his mental problems.
‘Asking him where he had got the drugs, who he had sold them to, what drugs he took himself, and the like.
It was all a sham to try and trick him into saying he did something that they already admit he is innocent of. It makes us scared that they will sentence him anyway, to save face.’
‘Andy was really shaken by the whole event. Expecting help and then having to defend against the man who was trying to exploit Andrew’s weakness and trick him into confessing something they know he hasn’t done.’
Father Maurice added: ‘The doctor wouldn’t let Andrew explain anything at all.
‘He just kept saying to Andrew’s face that he didn’t really suffer from PTSD, despite him having been diagnosed by the best Army doctors in the UK.
‘He told Andy that he was just experiencing “general anxiety”, and would prescribe him what he called “an internationally known medicine”. Only he wouldn’t tell Andy what the medicine was.
‘With these kind of attacks and exploitation of a vulnerable, man with mental health issues, we are more concerned than ever that they will frame him just to save face.’
The father-of-two moved to Dubai with his teacher wife (pictured) to run a dog training school after 24 years serving with the British Army
His case has been taken up by the pressure group Detained in Dubai who have said he has been the victim of ‘despicable police practice’.
‘The police not only failed to competently investigate the case, but have locked up an innocent British family man for over four months,’ said Detained in Dubai founder Radha Stirling.
‘It is shameful what has happened to Andy. His business is going under and he has missed many family events.’
Mr Neal, who served for 24 years in the army with tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, was arrested on October 4.
He had been living in Dubai with his family since 2015 where he runs a successful dog training school.
Mr Neal suffers from PTSD and was visited in jail by a doctor, who tried to get him to confess to his crimes
Having been diagnosed with PTSD from his last deployment to Afghanistan, he had settled into the Arab kingdom with his teacher wife and their children aged six and two.
His nightmare began when he returned from work and was suddenly surrounded by seven plain clothes detectives who searched his car.
The army veteran was frogmarched to his apartment where officers carried out another cursory search, emptying a few drawers and looking in cupboards.
His terrified wife was told not to call anyone while Mr Neal was assaulted and told he faced up to 10 years in jail.
The couple were warned if they did not co-operate their children would be taken away.
He told police: ‘I do not have anything to do with drugs.’
Even though he pleaded his innocence he was arrested and handcuffed for 17 hours with no food, water or access to the bathroom.
Both his wife’s and his phone were confiscated and police drew up a statement in Arabic which he was told to sign.
When Mr Neal complained that he had no idea what it said he was told curtly by an interrogator ‘It’s exactly what you said’.
Mr Neal, who spent his last years with the army as a member of the Royal Veterinary Corp, later found out he had ‘confessed’ to buying drugs from a Dutch national called Ray and later selling them to someone he had never met called Ahmed.
Police told him Ahmed had admitted Mr Neal sold him drugs – a lie that would later be revealed in court.
Three weeks ago a man Mr Neal, from Nottingham, was accused of selling drugs to admitted he had lied to police and his damming statement was withdrawn. Now he is awaiting to be formally acquitted and freed
During his first court hearing the police mixed up the evidence and Mr Neal learned he was one of 17 people arrested in a ‘drugs sting operation’
When he was asked by a prosecutor about his confession he told them: ‘I have not said any of the things in the statement and had no dealings with any of this at all.’
While being held in Dubai’s central prison his wife was only allowed to see him once a week.
Friends revealed Mr Neal, who served in the Worcesters and Foresters Regiment, broke down in tears as he spoke with his wife.
Mr Neal, 44, was made to sign a confession which he didn’t understand because it was written in Arabic
The British Embassy has offered little support, according to friends, and his parents Maurice and Sue have been frantic with worry while he is being held.
After being held in police cells he was transferred to Dubai’s central prison where conditions are far below those of a British jail.
Over the Christmas period Mr Neal had several court hearings cancelled when the prosecutor failed to turn up.
Three weeks ago Ahmed admitted to prosecutors that he had never bought any drugs from Mr Neal and his damming statement was withdrawn.
Police also failed to find any evidence of drug dealing at his home or any telephone calls between him and the other 16 accused.
Despite the case against Mr Neal collapsing the prosecutor said he would make a final decision on his fate by the end of January.
According to Detained in Dubai if Mr Neal is released immediately the prosecutor will have to admit they have been wrong.
But by transferring the case out of Dubai to another court in the UAE it would no longer be their responsibility but the investigation would start from the beginning leaving Mr Neal locked up.
Radga Stirling said: ‘Andy should not spend another night in prison, let alone another four months.
‘It is shameful that law enforcement has a rubber stamp to ruin people’s lives, rob children of their parents and jail innocent people with impunity. Why are forced confessions still standard in the UAE?
‘We are calling on Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and MP Mark Spencer to stand up for Andy Neal, a man who has dedicated much of his life to supporting British forces abroad and who was recovering from PTSD following service in Iraq, Afghanistan and Bosnia.’
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘We are providing assistance to a British man after his arrest in Dubai and are in touch with his family and the UAE authorities.’
A spokesman for the UAE Embassy in London was unavailable for comment.