Daniel Kinahan will likely have had his head shaved upon arrival in the Dubai prison which former inmates have described as the Arab world’s ‘Alcatraz’.
The international cartel boss was arrested last week on the orders of an Irish court and is likely to be extradited to Ireland in the coming weeks or months.
In the meantime, Kinahan is probably being held in the UAE’s notorious Al Awir Central, a far cry from the life of luxury he has enjoyed in the desert kingdom since he fled there from Europe.
On The Claire Byrne Show, Irish Independent journalist Maeve McTaggart said the prison had been described as the “Dubai version of Alcatraz” and a “hellhole”, given the routine complaints of poor conditions and severe overcrowding.
“The British Government provides quite a lot of guidance to its own citizens who might be facing time in the Arab Emirates, particularly in Dubai,” Ms McTaggart said.
“They describe once you arrive in the prison and you're being transported to the prison, you'll likely be handcuffed.
“Sometimes your legs will be shackled and chained and male inmates - like Daniel Kinahan- would likely have their heads shaved once they arrive.
“And while they will be granted a mattress, a pillow, a blanket, they are warned that this could take some time to arrive and particularly based on the overcrowding that is likely in the prison.”
Daniel Kinahan.Kinahan will likely share a cell with between 14 and 20 other people, some of whom could have committed violent crimes.
If he ever feels thirsty, the British Government has suggested he should avoid the tap water if possible and instead buy bottled water from the prison shop.
Like most buildings in Dubai, the prison is fitted out with air conditioning - but many prisoners say it is turned up high in order that they feel perpetually cold despite the blistering heat outside.
In theory, Kinahan willl also have access to phone calls - but this can be taken away from on a whim.
“All prisoners’ access to phone calls within a block can be withdrawn just to punish one single prisoner for their own behaviour,” Ms McTaggart said.
Most serious of all, prison violence in Al Awir Central is reportedly both routine and extreme.
“One account from a British national, Carl Williams, he was kept in the prison for a year for drug charges, he described being electrocuted with an electric cattle prod by authorities,” Ms McTaggart explained.
“[He] witnessed stabbings in the prison, which are described in a very detailed memoir, have been rejected by the Emirati authorities.
“But he really paints a really stark account of witnessing such levels of extreme violence that between inmates where guards just observe this and won't intervene.”
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Main image: Daniel Kinahan. Picture by: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin.
