By Irishexaminer.com,Liz Dunphy

Copyright irishexaminer

While in prison, his landlord sued him for non-payment of rent, seized his possessions, and had a travel ban imposed.

Mr Murphy has been unable to leave Dubai since. He also lost his job after being wrongly jailed and has struggled to survive without income.

He had been living in a bus station in Rashadiya, Dubai in recent months. After being forced out, he now spends his days riding the metro to survive, human rights organisation Detained in Dubai said.

“John is effectively a prisoner in the UAE without walls. He cannot leave, he cannot work, and he has been abandoned on the streets,” said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai.

“We are calling on the Irish government to help get John home”.

Mr Murphy is now in urgent need of medical and dental care, Ms Stirling said.

The engineer previously worked as operations manager for the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, before his arrest.

While on holiday with his wife in Abu Dhabi seven years ago, he said two aggressive security guards cornered him. As he tried to escape, he touched one guard’s hip. Mr Murphy complained about their behaviour, but they subsequently alleged that he had sexually assaulted one of them by touching his hip.

Mr Murphy was found innocent.

But he has been trapped in legal limbo ever since. Homelessness is illegal in Dubai, but when Mr Murphy tried to surrender himself to police, they refused to take him in, Detained in Dubai said.

“John is literally trapped between a rock and a hard place,” Ms Stirling said.

“He is innocent, yet he cannot leave, cannot work, and cannot even be arrested to resolve his situation. He is now physically failing, suffering from serious medical and dental issues, and abandoned in a foreign country.”

Mr Murphy has two unresolved civil cases, including one in Abu Dhabi dating back to 2017. He maintains he has evidence the debts are not owed but cannot afford the administrative fees to defend himself.

“Ireland cannot abandon one of its own citizens, especially a grandfather found innocent, to die on the streets of Dubai,” Ms Stirling said.

“We are calling not only on the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin but also on the Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi to intervene urgently and secure John’s immediate repatriation before his health collapses.

“The Irish government has shown leadership in the past year by intervening successfully in cases where citizens were unjustly detained or left in danger abroad. We urge them to extend the same urgency and compassion to John Murphy, whose situation is now desperate.”

The Department of Foreign Affairs has been contacted for comment.