Salim Alaradi's family still pleads for his release from U.A.E.

Marwa Alaradi hasn't seen her father in nearly a year, but the teen spends every day thinking of ways to bring him home.

The 17-year-old Windsor, Ont., resident has made it her mission to secure Salim Alaradi's release from a prison in the United Arab Emirates, where the 46-year-old Canadian has been held without charge since last August.

"It's been difficult to manage both school and fighting for my father, but I have to do that," she told The Canadian Press. "I know my father did nothing wrong."

Salim Alaradi has been behind bars since last August and recently had his detention extended for another 30 days — all without any explanation for why he is being held, his family said. They're calling on the Canadian government to secure his freedom.

The Libyan-born Alaradi immigrated to Canada from the U.A.E. with his family in 1998, living in Vancouver until he decided to return to the Middle Eastern nation in 2007 to run a home appliance business with his brother.

Alaradi and his family were on vacation last August, on the U.A.E.'s famed Palm Jumeirah island, when their world turned upside down.

The hotel's reception desk called Alaradi's room late at night telling him someone from the country's security service wanted to speak to him, his daughter said. When Alaradi went downstairs with his wife, he was taken away.

"They never told us why they're taking my father. They never told us the reason," said his daughter, who called the Canadian embassy's emergency line as soon as she found out what happened.

'We didn't know that he was alive'

For two months and 11 days, the family had no idea where Alaradi was being held, or what he had been accused of. Then they got a phone call.

"We didn't know that he was alive," said his daughter. "We finally heard his voice, we were happy, but he did not talk about what happened to him freely."

Another bewildering period of silence followed until Alaradi's family was told he was being held in a prison in the U.A.E. capital of Abu Dhabi, where his wife was allowed to visit him five months after he was detained. The visit was monitored, with Alaradi reluctant to disclose how he was being treated.

"My mom noticed that he lost a lot of weight; as well, she saw a burn mark on his hand. He said it was from the laundry," his daughter said.

Staff from the Canadian embassy in the U.A.E. have visited Alaradi three times, his daughter said, although in one of those visits they were only able to view him from afar.

When asked about Alaradi's case, a spokeswoman with Foreign Affairs said consular services were being provided to a Canadian detained in the U.A.E.

"Senior Canadian officials are in contact with the individual's family as well as the appropriate authorities in the United Arab Emirates," she said.

Family had held back

Alaradi's family didn't go public with their story until recently because they hoped the situation would be resolved, as it has for others in similar circumstances.

Alaradi's brother and business partner was detained at the same time, but abruptly released last December. The family thought the same could happen to Alaradi, but as he continued to be held, they decided to return to Canada in April and work for his release from here.

"We stayed there for seven months and thought they would release him," his daughter said. "But then we felt we can't do anything so we decided to come to Windsor."

Alaradi's family met with Foreign Affairs staff in Ottawa last month, imploring them to help.

"They've told us that the government is working hard on my father's case and they're taking it seriously because they're concerned," she said. "But they didn't tell us the details."

The family has wondered whether the fact that another one of Alaradi's brothers was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood group in Libya may have been a factor in his detention, but maintain that Alaradi has never been involved in politics himself.

A researcher with Amnesty International said Alaradi's detention might have been politically motivated.

Drewery Dyke, who has been studying Alaradi's case, noted that the Canadian was among 10 men of Libyan origin reportedly detained in the U.A.E. at the same time, saying the incidents were brought to the organization's attention by Libyan human rights activists.

"This kind of practice in the U.A.E. is now commonplace," he said. "There may be some allegations that this or that person may have supported a side in the Libyan conflict which the U.A.E. did not support," he said, noting that Alaradi's case seemed to clash with international perceptions of the U.A.E.

"This shiny, gleaming, modern-looking place that is an ally of major western powers — what on Earth is it doing undertaking these kinds of political arrests?"