The daughter of a Canadian man acquitted after nearly two years in a United Arab Emirates prison says she was surprised and thrilled to hear that he was released from prison Tuesday.
鈥淚 have been waiting for this day for almost two years now,鈥� said Marwa Alaradi, whose father Salim Alaradi was acquitted Monday on charges that human rights advocates had said were trumped up.
Alaradi told 麻豆传媒 Channel she鈥檚 hoping the Canadian government can arrange for her father to be flown as early as Wednesday morning to Turkey, where doctors will be able to treat him.
Alaradi said she too will head to Turkey. She can鈥檛 wait to just sit with her father, she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 all I need 鈥� And of course I want him to become healthy.鈥�
鈥淲e will do our best to make him return to the old Salim,鈥� she added.
Alaradi immigrated to Canada in 1998 from the U.A.E. but went back in 2007 to launch a home appliance business. His family lives in Windsor, Ont.
Alaradi was arrested in August 2014 along with a number of Libyans and accused of providing supplies to groups and collecting donations without government permission.
Alaradi鈥檚 lawyer, Paul Champ, told The Canadian Press earlier this week that his client faced not only the 鈥渋njustice of being held on false charges,鈥� but also 鈥渂rutal torture.鈥�
The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention alleged the men were deprived of sleep for up to 20 days, beaten on the hands and legs and given "electric shocks with an electric chair."
With files form The Canadian Press
