UK Navy hero detained in Dubai for SEVEN MONTHS after being accused of spying
The George Cross recipient was forced to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded Emirati prison
PA
A George Cross-winning former Royal Marine has been held in Dubai for seven months after being accused of spying.
Former Lance Corporal Matt Croucher, 40, had been awarded the gong for a heroic act of bravery in Afghanistan in 2008 - but was arrested while passing through the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year for allegedly illegally accessing a telecoms network.
Croucher, from Solihull, had been working in nearby Saudi Arabia and Qatar before stopping off in Dubai on the way home to the UK - but authorities took him in for a six-hour-long interrogation before being accused of espionage.
Dubai's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had grilled the 40-year-old for six hours for "intentionally and illegally accessing a telecommunications network", and had pressed him on his links to British intelligence and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) before he was jailed.
The George Cross recipient was forced to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded Emirati prison
PA
The George Cross recipient was forced to sleep on the floor of an overcrowded Emirati prison and ate a "primitive meal of rice and chicken twice a day with very unsanitary amenities" in the facility, where he was kept for four days, a close friend told the Times.
After being released under investigation, Croucher was told to present himself at Dubai's Al Barsha police station every week until March 27, and he said he had been repeatedly told his situation would be resolved within the "next week".
But Dubai authorities took his passport, phone and method of accessing online banking - leaving him trapped in the Gulf state without means of leaving of his own accord, where he now has been stuck for seven months.
A family statement said Croucher's relatives had been suffering from "immense stress", and slammed the case against the ex-marine as "made up and ridiculous".
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They said: "We're shocked at the set of circumstances which have played out over the last seven months. Matt was due to only be away for a couple of weeks, returning through Dubai after working in the Middle East on his way home.
"We don't understand why it's taking the Dubai authorities so long to process this case, being constantly told it should be resolved in a week or two, a case we believe to be made up and ridiculous."
His family accused the UK Foreign Office of being "useless", and claimed it was "often making things worse with misinformation, telling him the case was formally concluded and would only take one to two months".
Jess Phillips, the family's MP prior to Parliament's dissolution last week in the wake of the General Election announcement, had been trying to help - but the snap election call has left her unable to assist further until her possible July 4 re-election, the family said.
Croucher, pictured here with then-Prince of Wales, King Charles III
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Croucher's close friend also told the Times: "Unable to earn, access banking and having to fund his stay in Dubai, unable to leave (due to government enforced travel ban), has caused significant financial strain.
"This has also put a huge strain on his family who are left waiting in the UK with no answers or support."
The 40-year-old, who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan, had won the George Cross for an extraordinary act of valour in which he threw himself on a grenade to save the lives of his fellow soldiers. He was presented with the medal by Queen Elizabeth II at a Buckingham Palace ceremony in 2008.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting a British man in the UAE and are in contact with the local authorities."
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