Disabled Navy vet facing years in Dubai prison ‘can’t stop shaking’ | World | News

A Navy vet facing years in a Dubai prison over prescription medication for chronic pain said he ‘can’t stop shaking’ after an appeal was made to free him in time for major surgery.

Charles Wimberly, 52, was detained at DXB airport on September 27 after officers discovered his prescription Ibuprofen and CBD oil.

The disabled Navy veteran and PTSD sufferer from Covington, Georgia, uses the medication to manage pain from a degenerative joint disease of the spine.

After arriving in Dubai on the 21st of September, Mr Wimberly filled his six days abroad with full day tours seeing all the classic tourist sights.

When he was preparing to board the long flight home the holiday goer experienced “every tourist’s nightmare” after he beeped going through a pre-departure screening.

The airport staff found his medicine and, despite him presenting his prescriptions, the veteran was locked up.

Mr Wimberly was scheduled for surgery in November with an expected six month long recovery time- which he now risks missing.

He said: “My PTSD is at a very high level right now… I’m so tired of crying… I can’t stop shaking.

“My daughter is so upset… I feel like I’ve let everyone down.

“I’m hurting because I served my country, and I just want to go home.”

A direct appeal has now been made for Rep. Mike Collins and Senators Warnock & Ossoff to intervene and save him – and with the major surgery scheduled in Georgia next month, Charles and his family are desperate to get him home.

Crisis manager and Detained in Dubai CEO, Radha Stirling, who is helping the family, said: “Senator JD Vance and his team successfully brought home Ohio residents and Air Force Veteran Joseph and his brother Joshua Lopez after just a few weeks of being called on for help.

“We hope Rep. Mike Collins and Mr Wimberly’s Senators can do the same for him.

“Charles risks years in prison for unintentionally traveling with his prescription medication, a decision he deeply regrets.

“He doesn’t deserve to be put behind bars or even kept in the UAE. He needs surgery and ongoing medical care, something the Emirati authorities will absolutely not provide.

“He suffers chronic pain from a degenerative structural issue and his 20 years in the Navy has left him with PTSD. He needs the help of his representatives in Georgia.

“We hope he can be home with his daughter and family members for his surgery and the November Presidential election. When someone has given so much to their country, it’s a relief for them to be helped by their State representatives.

Daughter Candis Wimberly described her father as “the funniest person on this planet”.

She told the Atlanta Black Star that family members have been trying to contact as many politicians as possible to help her father.

Wimberly says he speaks to family members every day, including his father, who spent 30 years in the Army, and his brother, who spent 24 years in the Air Force, but there is not much anybody can do since he is subject to UAE laws.

Ms Stirling added, “We are doing everything we can to help Charles get home and be reunited with his family. Cases like these have broader implications for international relations and the travel industry.

“We urge the government of Dubai to intervene and to consider asking airlines to send pre-travel advice to holidaymakers when they book their flights.

“We have been involved in the arrests of numerous American tourist cases involving CBD and even residual traces of marijuana consumed legally in other countries before flying as it remains in the blood for weeks – months.”

She added: “Charles was locked up and deprived of his prescription medication as well as meds to manage his diabetes and sleep apnea causing him to suffer a diabetic episode.

“He’s a good man who does not partake in drugs. All he wanted was one last holiday before his debilitating surgery.

“Charles had unfortunately been provided with some misinformation on the internet in respect of prescription medicine.

“He thought he was abiding by the law but is now facing a possible 3+ year sentence for ‘trafficking’ his own prescription meds.

“If he is not released imminently, he will miss his surgery in Georgia and the UAE will not provide him with any medical treatment.

“If he stays in Dubai, things will become very bad very quickly for Charles. His family, especially his daughter, are extremely concerned for his health and welfare”.

Mr Wimberly has now been granted bail but still cannot leave the country, leaving him to pay for hotel rooms.

Ms Stirling added: “We need to get this long serving Veteran home for his surgery”.