Former Leeds United boss claims he was ‘raped and tortured’ in Dubai jail after being outed
By Joshua Haigh
Former Leeds United boss David Haigh has claimed he was raped and tortured in a Dubai jail after he was outed as gay by authorities against his will.
According to the Mirror, Scotland Yard are investigating the allegations by Haigh, who spent 22 months in prison in Dubai after he was accused of fraud charges.
Haigh has claimed he was tricked into flying to the Middle East to meet with officials from Gulf Finance House to discuss a deal.
The deal fell through, however, and Haigh states he was arrested in March 2014. He then remained in prison until he was acquitted in March 2016.
During his time behind bars, Haigh claims he was repeatedly tortured, raped and abused, and also witnessed the torture of other inmates.
He was also outed against his will by authorities, claiming it happened after he wrote letters to the Dubai DIFC Courts, pleading them to keep the name of his partner and his sexuality private.
Speaking to the Mirror, Haigh said: “One of these letters begged for the name of my partner and my sexuality not to be made public by the DIFC Court, as I feared for his and my own life.”
“This request was ignored and such information was made public, and further, made available online in a country where the penalty for being gay is death.
“The result of the information being made public, was that I was raped and sexually abused, and my partner had to flee our home in the Middle East where he is from, and claim refugee status. I was categorically discriminated against… on the basis that I am gay, and because my partner is Muslim.”
In an Instagram post from last week, Haigh revealed he “survived”.
“I have faced the darkest ever moments a human never should face. Raped & tortured & set up. I survived. I have lost so much. Yet I will never give up. This month I lost many friends to God. Yet I will never give up for I have love and courage.”
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