DUBAI // The nine-week ordeal for a British grandfather stranded in Dubai on suspicion of sending threatening messages following a child custody battle is over.
Steve Grant, 58, was held at Dubai airport on April 17 en route to visit his grandchildren, Aisha, 10, and her 7-year-old brother Faris, in Oman to deliver a video message from their estranged mother, his daughter, Lacey Plato.
Mr Grant’s passport was confiscated while accusations of harassment made by the children’s Omani grandfather, who lives in Dubai, were investigated by the authorities.
Mr Grant received a call from the British embassy to say he was free to leave the country and return home on Wednesday. He landed in London on Thursday night.
With Father’s Day on Sunday, the timing could not have been better but the ordeal has left its mark on Mr Grant and his family, he said.
“It was amazing and such a relief to get my passport back,” he said. “It was one of those moments I couldn’t believe until it had actually happened.
“I went to Al Rashidiya late on Wednesday morning and they wanted to confiscate my UK mobile phone and keep it as evidence, as it had some WhatsApp messages on as part of the original argument.
“I wasn’t going to argue with them as I just wanted my passport back.
“It took around two hours of filling in forms and then I rebooked a flight for Thursday lunchtime.”
Aisha and Faris were taken to Oman in 2012 by their father, Usama Al Barwani. The children are there with their paternal grandmother, despite a UK high court order calling for their return.
The childrens’ mother and Mr Al Barwani split shortly after Faris was born.
Mr Al Barwani gave Ms Plato permission to take the children back to the UK, said Mr Grant, who took his daughter and her two children in to his home in Portsmouth, southern England.
A legal dispute began when Mr Al Barwani failed to return the children after a weekend visit, taking the children to the UAE instead.
He was arrested when he returned the UK to try to win Ms Plato back and was later jailed for four years for abducting the children.
Although Mr Grant was given his passport back, he faced more delays and paperwork at immigration as he needed an out-pass to legally leave the country.
The case has been withdrawn and he was allowed to leave without paying a fine or charge.
His lawyer in Dubai has been given power of attorney, should he need to be represented in court in future, although Mr Grant said it was unclear if the charges had been dropped.
On landing back in the UK, Mr Grant said: “My daughter was very emotional. It was good to wake up in my own bed and it felt so good and to be back in time for Father’s Day – we will have a little celebration.”
nwebster@thenational.ae
