Scottish man detained in Iraq sentenced to 2 years in Qatar jail ‘likely to be extradited’

British citizen Brian Glendinning was to start work on a construction engineering contract in Basra last month, when he was abruptly arrested by authorities on the basis of a Red Notice from Qatar. The Scot had worked in Doha in 2016 and was persuaded by aggressive sales reps of Qatar National Bank to take out a £20,000 low-interest loan to help him settle in the country. While on holiday in 2017, Glendinning fell ill, and claimed sick-leave from his job, only to be immediately fired. Despite the fact that he made consistent payments on the debt throughout his time in Qatar, and despite remaining in contact with QNB during his unemployment; the bank filed a criminal complaint against Glendinning for “defaulting” on the loan. He was convicted in absentia to two years in prison, and his name was submitted to Interpol as a fugitive sought for extradition.

“Typically, when anyone agrees to take a loan from QNB,” commented Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Doha and IPEX, an NGO dedicated to Interpol reform, “they are required to submit a security cheque for the total amount of the loan. If they fall behind in their payments, the bank will cash that security cheque, which inevitably bounces. The bank then accuses the debtor of fraud, and claims that they are owed the total principal of the loan, regardless of how much it has already been paid down through months of instalments.”

Glendinning has been held in police lock-up for 4 weeks, and faces the possibility of extradition any day now.