An Air Force veteran and his brother were sentenced to jail in the United Arab Emirates last week after reportedly being “drugged” during a yacht party.
Joseph and Joshua Lopez were convicted of alcohol consumption and sentenced to a month in prison in Dubai due to the supposed drugging, according to Detained in Dubai (DID), a legal organization that aims to help foreign nationals imprisoned in the UAE. The brothers could see their prison sentence lengthened even further due to pending charges of “damaging government property and assaulting an officer” related to the incident on the yacht.
“They were drugged by locals after being asked to a yacht party by a local resident,” DID CEO Radha Stirling wrote in a press release on the organization’s website calling for the brothers’ release. “They were given one drink onboard the yacht and the next thing they remember is being taken away by plain clothed police officers in an unmarked vehicle.”
#Ohio Veteran Joseph & brother Joshua Lopez expect to be JAILED in #Dubai any day now. @JDVance says he is helping behind the scenes and we hope he can bring these brothers home ASAP! #JDVance https://t.co/nKZom52vo9
— Radha Stirling (@RadhaStirling) August 19, 2024
The brothers had traveled to the UAE on May 25 in a bid to capture social media content for Joseph, who has since become a social media influencer after leaving the Air Force and is the current title holder of the “Mister Louisiana” pageant, the New York Post reported.
On June 2, after partying at a local nightclub, an Uber driver offered to bring them to an afterparty, where they were brought large quantities of food and beverages they hadn’t ordered, according to the NYP. The brothers were given a large bill 20 minutes after their arrival, and they were then invited to a yacht party where they were given one drink.
“This girl brought me a drink, and after she brought me this drink, I don’t remember anything,” Joseph Lopez previously told Cincinnati’s Fox 19 Now.
Following the arrest, the brothers were brought to the Al Barsha police station, according to the NYP. Despite the brothers’ requests, Emirati law enforcement officials purportedly refused to test the Lopezes for the “presence of any drugs or sedatives,” according to the DID.
“The government portrays that Dubai is a safe and crime free destination for tourists but the fact is, we see tourists targeted all the time,” Stirling wrote in the press release. “It’s a myth that Dubai is crime free. They just don’t acknowledge it as it’s bad for business.”
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