The British planespotters who have spent two months in jail in the UAE are to be released at last, their families have told media in the UK.
Conrad Clitheroe, Gary Cooper and Neil Munro were arrested on February 21 near Fujairah Airport while on a planespotting trip but the case has now reportedly been dropped.
On Monday, Valerie, the wife of Clitheroe, told the Manchester Evening News that she expects to have her husband home in time for their first wedding anniversary on May 9.
She told the paper: “I am absolutely ecstatic. Apart from our wedding and the birth of my children this is the best day of my life. I just can’t wait to see him, to hug him, to hold him. We got a call from the lawyer at 10am today to tell us he’d been in court and the case had been dropped.”
Attorney Nasser Hashem also told the Associated Press that the men would be free to go after the court accepted a defence argument that they were pursuing their passion for plane spotting and had no ill intent.
“We explained this is a hobby. This doesn’t mean anything against the law,” Hashem was quoted as saying.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has yet to confirm their release.
Radha Sterling, from the Detained in Dubai legal advice group, told BBC News that, following a court hearing earlier on Monday, she had been told by the lawyer acting for two of the men that they would be released.
They have denied claims that they were taking photos and using a telescope near Fujairah Airport, which is known for older and rarer aircraft.
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