In the middle of the night on August 28, 2014, Salim Alaradi received a telephone call at his hotel room while on vacation in Dubai.
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Alaradi, a Canadian-Libyan dual national, was requested by UAE authorities to come to the lobby to answer some questions.
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He never returned.
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A year has now passed, and Alaradi, a 46-year-old businessman and father of five, remains jailed without charge or trial in the Gulf state.
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In a statement, the Canadian foreign affairs, trade and development ministry told Al Jazeera: "Consular services are being provided to the Canadian citizen detained in the United Arab Emirates.
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Senior Canadian officials are in contact with the individual's family, as well as the appropriate authorities in the United Arab Emirates."
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The ministry declined to comment further.
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Contacted by Al Jazeera, the UAE ministries of justice and interior said that no one was available to comment on the case.
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Al Jazeera spoke to Alaradi's 18-year-old daughter, Marwa Alaradi, who lives in Ontario, Canada, but is currently in Doha, about the campaign to bring her father home.
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Al Jazeera: Do you know anything about where your father is?
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Marwa Alaradi: We know that he was detained by the UAE state security and then transferred to a secret prison for four months in Abu Dhabi.
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In January, he was transferred to Al-Wathba prison, also in Abu Dhabi.
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Al Jazeera: Has your father had access to a lawyer or been allowed visitors?
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Alaradi: The Canadian authorities have seen him three times - once was from across a room for less than a minute, where he was only allowed to confirm his name.
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We don't consider this a real visit.
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The other two times have been very brief to check his status.
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We believe that the UAE authorities are not cooperating and have significantly restricted the Canadian mission in the UAE from offering consular services.
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There was no communication with us, his family, until March, when he was given three phone calls.
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Each time he asked only about us and never spoke about himself or gave any details.
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All of the visits and phone calls have been monitored.
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He has had no access to lawyers.
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Al Jazeera: How is your father's health?
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Alaradi: His condition is very critical.
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Recently, our family received information that he is experiencing a significant deterioration in his health.
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My father has a number of pre-existing conditions, including [having had] open-heart surgery and problems with his spine that have increased in severity as a direct result of his detention.
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He is suffering from chronic back pain and has been denied access to specialised medical care.
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If his health conditions remain untreated and he continues to be denied medical aid, he will be at risk of permanent and irreversible damage to his spine.
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He has also suffered major weight loss, eye infections and bronchitis.
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Al Jazeera: How has this affected your family life?
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Alaradi: I am the oldest of four siblings.
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My younger siblings are unaware of my father's detention; my mother and I tell them he is on a business trip.
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But they miss him, and it's hard for us to conceal the truth.
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My mother pretends that she is OK in front of [the children], but it hurts whenever they ask: When will he be back?
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We recently told my brother and he was devastated.
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I sometimes feel it's all on me.
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I just finished 11th grade in Canada; I'm trying to study and run this campaign to raise my father's profile.
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I've also travelled to Ottawa to meet with Amnesty International and other NGOs, and carried out press interviews.
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I've had to spend six months in the UAE just waiting for news.
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At the end of the day, I'm fighting for someone I love who has done nothing wrong.
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Al Jazeera: Your uncle, Mohammed Alaradi, was also detained along with nine other Libyans in the UAE at that time.
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What happened to him?
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Alaradi: On the same day my father was taken, his brother Mohammed was also arrested and detained.
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After four months, my uncle was released and deported... [The] reasons for his arrest and release were never shared with us, and we consider them arbitrary.
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According to my uncle, both he and the other detainees were regularly subjected to interrogation and torture.
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My uncle cannot live a normal life knowing his brother remains detained.
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Al Jazeera: What support have you received internationally?
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Alaradi: We have received lots of support, and we are grateful for that.
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Last week was the one-year anniversary of my father's detention, and his ordeal has drawn international concern from media and human rights organisations, including Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, [and others].
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The Libyan government also issued a statement.
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My father's 365-plus days of arbitrary detention are not an isolated situation but are a highlight of the human rights violations taking place in the UAE.
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Al Jazeera: What is Canada doing to secure his release?
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Alaradi: Canada informs us that they are handling this very seriously, and the authorities have stood with us from the beginning.
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We are grateful, but at the end of the day, it is past 365 days, and he is not home.
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Al Jazeera: Do you have any expectations of support from Libya?
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Alaradi: While Libya is responsible to diplomatically intervene, we excuse the Libyan authorities because they are in political turmoil.
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Nevertheless, they have issued a statement.
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Al Jazeera: Has your father ever been politically involved in Libya or otherwise?
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Alaradi: He has no political affiliations and has never had any political involvement while in the UAE or Libya.
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He supported the revolution in Libya and its transition to democracy, like millions of Libyans.
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But he was not in Libya during the revolution or post-revolution and did not actively participate in this process.
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Al Jazeera: What have you and your family been doing to raise awareness of your father's case?
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Alaradi: We stayed silent for the first six months of his detention, but now we believe that this did not help.
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It was done out of respect to allow for diplomatic channels to take their course.
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At the end of the day, we have no choice but to fight for the freedom and rights of our family member.
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We have no intent of disrespecting the UAE, but he needs to be reunited with his family.
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People who want to support my father and family can sign our petition, follow us on Twitter and share our page on Facebook.
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We need to make the world aware that there are innocent men in UAE prisons who deserve the world to speak out on their behalf.
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Abdussalam Alaradi, Marwa's cousin, also contributed to the preparation of this interview.

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