Journalist Will Coldwell tells the story of how a British businessman was imprisoned in Dubai – and how his family finally got him home

When Albert Douglas found out he was facing a long prison sentence in Dubai, he tried to escape the UAE … and failed. What followed was years of court proceedings, time in prison and even, Douglas says, beatings and torture.

In recent years, scores of business owners, unsuspecting tourists and influencers have been detained in Dubai – caught up in an opaque legal system, charged with breaking laws they may not even have been aware of.

China’s President Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday, Chinese state media said, as a string of leaders of countries impacted by the Middle East war flock to Beijing.

Lavrov joins Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Vietnamese leader To Lam in meeting with Xi this week.

The Russian diplomat told a news conference after meeting Xi that Moscow could “compensate” for China’s energy shortages as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains choked by the Iran war.

Xi, meanwhile, has sought to position China as a mediator and stable partner in the face of the US- and Israeli-led conflict.

Xi told Abu Dhabi’s crown prince on Tuesday that China would play a “constructive role” in promoting peace talks in the Middle East.

In talks with Spain’s Sanchez, Xi warned that the world was facing “chaos and turmoil” and “a contest between justice and force”, urging closer cooperation.

The Spanish prime minister, meanwhile, welcomed China’s role in seeking to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

Though the level of diplomatic activity is normal for Beijing, the Middle East war and particularly the issue of energy security have taken on new urgency in diplomatic discussions, according to Dylan Loh, associate professor at Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

“China has got leverage and influence over Iran, and there are some hopes and expectations that China can use this influence in a more direct way,” Loh said.

Countries, particularly in the Gulf, could be hoping China can pressure Iran to stop its attacks on Gulf countries and to persist with diplomatic negotiations, he said.

Shortfall

The string of visitors “demonstrates that various actors are adjusting to the realities of an uncertain world. Engaging with the PRC, including over areas of difference, is part of this adjustment”, according to Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore.

While many visits were likely planned before the Middle East crisis, those from Gulf countries’ representatives and Lavrov “seem more of a direct result of the conflict and the desire to de-escalate”, Chong said.

Lavrov, who is on a two-day visit to China to boost bilateral ties, said Russia could help China with energy resources following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

China is a net importer of oil and has seen prices for petrol, plastics, and fertilisers spike due to the war.

“Russia can, without doubt, compensate for the shortfall in resources that has arisen both for the PRC and for other countries that are interested in working with us”, Lavrov said during a news conference in Beijing, Russian state media reported Wednesday.

But “Moscow and Beijing’s interests may diverge somewhat on the war in Iran”, according to Chong.

High energy prices are disruptive for China’s economy, but can help Moscow fund its war in Ukraine, Chong said.

During his meeting with Lavrov at Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, Xi urged China and Russia to “give full play to the advantages of geographic proximity and complementarity, deepen all-round cooperation and raise the resilience of each other’s development”, according to a readout from Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.

“Both sides should maintain strategic focus, trust each other, support each other, develop together,” Xi said.

Lavrov told Xi that China-Russia relations “play a stabilising role in world affairs”, according to Russian state news agencies.

On Tuesday, Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi “conducted in-depth exchanges on the US-Iran conflict, the Asia-Pacific situation, the Ukraine crisis” and other issues, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

They also discussed plans for a meeting between Putin and Xi, which Lavrov said would take place in the first half of this year.

Beijing and Moscow are close economic and political partners, and the relationship has deepened further since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other Gulf states were targeted by Iranian airstrikes, Hongkonger Oi Chau joined a chorus of other expats saying it was “business as usual” in Dubai.

She was convinced after seeing images of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as defence minister, strolling around Dubai Mall on March 2 – two days after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran triggered a military conflict in the Middle East.

Four weeks later, on Monday, the crown prince, Sheikh Hamdan, made another visit to the same mall – this time with Finance Minister Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

It was “as if nothing happened, as if it was business as usual,” Chau told HKFP.

The UAE, a regional economic superpower that hosts US military assets, seems to bear the brunt of Iranian strikes.

As of Wednesday, UAE air defences had intercepted 438 ballistic missiles, 19 cruise missiles, and 2,012 drones launched by Tehran. The Ministry of Defence said 12 people – nine of whom were foreign nationals – had been killed and 190 others injured.

Last month, the Hong Kong government raised travel alerts for countries in the Middle East, including the UAE and Saudi Arabia. It said that as of March 23, about 590 of the 830 Hong Kong residents who sent enquiries to the Immigration Department had left the region, while 240 remained behind in the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Despite growing uncertainty over the war in the Middle East, Chau was among Hongkongers – long accustomed to their home city’s insularity from armed conflicts – who have chosen to stay put.

Hong Kong to Dubai

Chau recalled hearing the initial strikes on February 28 from her flat at the Dubai Marina district.

She lives a 30-minute drive away from the Port of Jebel Ali, where one of the berths caught fire from missile debris when Iran’s airstrikes were intercepted in early March.

“I saw a crater in the side of a building from the intercepted missiles. That was when I thought my life could be in danger,” Chau told HKFP in a video call in late March.

A month into the strikes, she thought the worst of the conflict was over.

“When we were able to hear the missiles overhead, I was conflicted whether I should leave the UAE. But the strikes calmed down after the third week, so I don’t think I have to leave just yet,” she said.

Chau, who works for a regional office of a Japanese car manufacturer, said she chose to stay largely because her employer does not allow remote work.

Meanwhile, by her own estimates, some 80 per cent of her expat social circle have left. Dubai Marina, an affluent tourism and residential district where Chau lives, has fallen silent since the war broke out, with tourists gone and residents mostly staying home.

Chau transferred to Dubai two years ago for a change of scenery after getting fed up with the restrictive work culture at the automobile company in Tokyo.

What drew her to Dubai was the diverse expat crowd and the low-tax regime, which she said was reminiscent of Hong Kong’s.

Having visited twice before moving to Dubai for work, Chau had already formed an impression of the UAE as an “oasis” for political stability.

“I never had concerns that this place would be dragged into a conflict,” she said, adding that she believed the UAE would be well-protected even in the case that it did get involved.

Safe haven

However, the war has shattered the UAE’s image as a safe, low-tax haven that attracts affluent foreigners.

There are signs that the conflict may escalate even further, as Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have led calls for the US to turn up the heat on Tehran. The unpredictable nature of US President Donald Trump, which has veered from threatening to hit Iran’s civilian and energy infrastructure to announcing a pause to his threats, does not help either.

Meanwhile, the automaker Chau works for has been experiencing supply issues since Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israeli strikes.

Other companies have slashed salaries and placed employees on unpaid leave, but so far, Chau’s workplace has said it will not impose pay cuts. “But if the situation continues, nobody knows,” she said.

For Chau, choosing to stay during the first fortnight of the conflict was something of a gamble. But some factors convinced her about the city’s safety, including assurances from her Lebanese boss, who witnessed armed conflicts in his country of origin, and a friend who grew up in Dubai, as well as the crown prince’s mall visits.

“It was as if to say, the UAE isn’t affected by this war, we aren’t affected, and our development will continue,” she said of the Dubai rulers’ mall stroll.

Across the border in Saudi Arabia, Chloe Wong has also decided to stay, although the country, which hosts several US military bases, has been targeted by Iranian strikes.

“As of now, life is still normal here in Riyadh,” said the Hongkonger who moved to the Saudi capital after a stint in the UAE. “It’s almost like the war isn’t even happening.”

She added: “I believe we are still in safe hands. There were some missiles here in Riyadh, and I think it has already become… our new normal.”

Wong said she would consider leaving only if Saudi Arabia “actively participates” in the conflict. “The Gulf countries haven’t joined the war.”

‘Like propaganda’

Another Hongkonger in Dubai has a more critical view of the crown prince’s public appearance.

Kristi, who uses a pseudonym for fear of reprisals, said she believed the grandstanding was meant to reassure the UAE populace of the “Dubai dream” amid missile and drone strikes.

“The government cares a lot about its image. I’ve known this since I came here,” said Kristi, who now works as a marketer after moving to the city.

“They don’t want to let public sentiment be affected. At the end of the day, 90 per cent of the workforce are expats. If they leave, who’s left to work?”

Airstrikes are not the only worry. The UAE’s National Media Authority warned on March 2 that sharing false or unverified content was an imprisonable offence.

In mid-March, the UAE attorney general arrested 35 people from nine countries for sharing photos and videos related to the Iranian strikes on social media, from real to misleading and AI-generated content. Days later, on March 20, Abu Dhabi police announced the arrests of 109 people on suspicion of filming or posting about the Iranian attacks.

Following the arrest reports, Kristi witnessed members of a WhatsApp group consisting of hundreds of Hongkongers in Dubai deleting images from the chat. They now only resort to text descriptions of what they have seen.

Meanwhile, government-licensed influencers on TikTok and Instagram in Dubai continue to produce a steady stream of content praising the ruling royal family for ensuring their safety.

“Spreading fear doesn’t do them any favours; it actually hurts them. We understand why they have to do that, but we know it feels like propaganda,” she said, referring to the Dubai rulers.

Kristi pointed out that, as a Hongkonger, she had never experienced geopolitical conflict first-hand.

“We Hongkongers haven’t witnessed natural disasters or war,” she said, adding that one of the deciding factors for her move was that she felt Dubai was as safe as Hong Kong. However, she acknowledges that the narrative is being challenged.

While Dubai’s missile interception systems have provided a degree of reassurance, “nobody knows if they’re going to run out,” Kristi said, referring to the UAE’s Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) system, developed by US defence giant Lockheed Martin.

“Drones also don’t care where they fall after their GPS systems are jammed,” she added.

Kristi moved to Dubai on a whim about half a decade ago. “I didn’t even know what the Middle East was back then,” she said.

“When the fighting began in Iran and with Gaza, my friends back in Hong Kong messaged me telling me to take care of myself. But in Dubai, you really couldn’t feel any of that. It was really when the missiles were intercepted that I could feel the impact of war.”

Despite the shock, Kristi has decided to stay, at least for the time being.

Her boyfriend, who is also based in Dubai, is one major reason why she is staying put. “I have a stable partner here, and we’re planning to get married. I’m not going to just leave and do this long-distance,” she said.

Even before the war, she had realised that life in Dubai “is good for a short time,” and the couple had plans to leave. For now, they want to stay, at least for a short or medium term.

“Even if they announce a ceasefire, things won’t return to normal overnight,” Kristi said. “I don’t think it’s going to stop any time soon. Iran and Trump are both stubborn… and the UAE is stuck in the middle.”