Scot lands on home soil after Iraqi jail ordeal

A Scottish engineer who spent two months in custody in Iraq has been reunited with his family.

Brian Glendinning touched down in Edinburgh after being locked up in an overcrowded prison in Iraq.

The 43-year-old was held over a debt conviction he was unaware he had while working on a previous job in Qatar.

An emotional reunion took place at Edinburgh Airport as his family, who campaigned for his release, met him from his flight from Istanbul.

He was greeted by his mother Meta, wife Kimberly, daughters Heidi and Lexi, and brothers John and Lee.

The father-of-three did not know he was on an Interpol list as a wanted fugitive until he was held in Basra in September while on his way to a new job.

His ordeal ended last Sunday after a campaign led by his wife and family.

The family, from Kincardine in Fife, ran to surround Mr Glendinning in an emotional group hug as he entered the arrivals hall just before midday on Saturday.

After the tearful reunion, Mr Glendinning said: “I am back to where I belong with my family and my friends.

“The emotion – I didn’t think I would be here any time soon.

“If it wasn’t for the support of my family and friends, Douglas Chapman, Radha Stirling, I would still be there.

“I think I would probably be on my way to Qatar – and not for the World Cup.”

He thanked all those who had supported him and worked to get him freed, including Radha Stirling, founder of the Interpol and Extradition Reform (Ipex) initiative, and Douglas Chapman, the MP for Dunfermline and West Fife, who was also at the airport to greet him.

Mr Glendenning was unable to shave during the time in prison – with his brother John saying there had only been a single communal shaver in the jail, where he had been kept in “vile” conditions.

“It’s just time to get home and get to the barbers,” Mr Glendinning joked.

His wife Kimberley and his family had been calling for the UK government to intervene in his case since last month.

They finally got news of his release after the bank which is owed the money issued a clearance note stamped by the authorities in Qatar saying they no longer wanted him extradited.

Mr Glendinning was picked up by British embassy staff on Sunday and taken to a secure hotel.

It took several days to organise his return.

Speaking at the airport, mum Meta said she was not confident she would see him return.

“This morning – when I knew his backside was on this plane that was going to land, that’s when I knew it was going to be all right,” she said.

She remembered the moment she heard he was in custody.

“I had been texting him back and forward on his journey and everything was fine and he left Saudi Arabia and he was in Basra.

“Then he sent the message: ‘Mum, I’ve been detained’. And that’s when my hell started. And my family’s.”

Mr Glendinning faced the threat of years in prison.

In 2017 Mr Glendinning was sentenced in his absence to two years in prison for defaulting on a debt.

He had agreed to take out a £20,000 loan with his bank in Qatar while working in Doha in 2016, but was not able to keep up full repayments when he lost his job.

His family told how he was made redundant in 2017, while on sick leave at home in Scotland, but had kept in touch with the bank, not realising he had been convicted of a crime.

He only discovered the arrest warrant meant he was on an Interpol red list when he was detained at Basra airport in September.

His brother sold his car to help pay his brother’s legal bills, which within four weeks of his arrest had soared to £30,000.

Mr Glendinning will return to Kincardine to recover from his ordeal and his family say he will never work abroad again.

Radha Stirling said: “This is the moment we have been working towards the past five weeks and we’re incredibly relieved to see him back on UK soil.

“Brian is going to take some time to rest and recuperate with his family before telling the world about the horrific experience he was forced to endure at the hands of Qatar, a country which has spent a fortune portraying itself as a tolerant society.

“Once Brian has rested, we intend to push for British safeguards and to hold Qatar to account for the repeated abuse of our citizens”.