Charles Wimberly was minutes away from boarding a flight in Dubai back to the United States last month when he was arrested for drug trafficking for carrying six CBD capsules, which he uses to manage his back pain.
The 52-year-old Black man from Georgia was placed in a holding cell inside Dubai International Airport for more than 24 hours without food and water, resulting in the U.S. Navy veteran passing out from a diabetic episode. And without his CBD and ibuprofen, both of which were confiscated from him, his back pain became unbearable — the result of two ruptured discs from falling out of a helicopter during his 21-year career in the Navy.
He was awakened by a doctor shining a light in his eyes, asking if he was diabetic, which he confirmed. A blood test determined his blood sugar levels had dropped to 40 mg/dl, which could be life-threatening considering the normal range is between 70 to 100 mg/dl, according to the World Health Organization.
Unable to walk, Dubai police eventually had to carry him to another cell in the airport, where he was locked up with more than 200 other inmates, crammed together like sardines, most of them sleeping on mattresses on the floor. Most, he said, had been arrested on drug trafficking charges for attempting to bring drugs into the country.
“There were people there from all over the world, every nationality,” Wimberly said in a telephone interview with Atlanta Black Star Wednesday from a Dubai hotel room where he has been holed up for almost a month, not allowed to leave the United Arab Emirates.
“Some of them had been there for a year. They told me they call it ‘purgatory’ because nobody knew their court date.”
But he was released from that cell a few hours later and escorted out of the airport with nowhere to go. He believes he was released because they did not want him dying in the jail cell, which would have resulted in negative publicity.
He was standing in front of the airport, barely able to walk when a taxi driver pulled up and helped him out. The driver asked if he had luggage, and Wimberly said his luggage was probably on the plane to Georgia because he had already checked it in.
“And he said, ‘Let’s go inside and ask,’ and he escorted me into the airport and asked about my luggage. They gave it to me because they had taken it off the plane,” Wimberly said.
The taxi driver then drove him to a hotel where he has remained ever since. He was forced to dip into his savings to pay the $80-a-night rate for the hotel room and now manages his pain through over-the-counter painkillers from a local pharmacy. His daily meals consist of sandwiches he prepares from bread and turkey bought from the local grocery store.
And he will likely miss a back surgery appointment he had scheduled for November because it does not appear he will be allowed to leave the United Arab Emirates for months or even years.
“There are deep-rooted issues in the Dubai justice system, which is in stark contrast to the glitzy, tall buildings we see on Instagram,” said Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, an international organization advocating for criminal justice reform in the UAE.
“Charles has the potential to be jailed for several years for traveling with his prescription medicine. He is in desperate need of complex surgery that is scheduled for next month, but the hope that he will be home in Georgia for that is dwindling,” Stirling explained in an email to Atlanta Black Star.
The Arrest
Wimberly had visited Dubai three times before while enlisted in the Navy but was mostly working during those times. This time, he traveled to Dubai for a vacation with friends before his scheduled surgery in November, one of many he has had since falling out of the helicopter while in the Navy, leaving him with pinched nerves that cause agonizing pain.
He has been taking CBD through a doctor’s certification in Georgia for the past two years, and combined with prescription-grade ibuprofen, the cannabinoid helps ease his constant back pain. He prepared for the 14-hour flight by packing enough medicine to last him a week.
They arrived on Sept. 21 and spent the next few days taking tours and having fun. On Sept. 27, they returned to the airport, checked in their luggage, and walked through the security metal detectors within one hour of his flight’s departure.
But he was told to empty his pockets, which was when they discovered the six capsules, each containing 10 milligrams of CBD, which he made no attempt to hide because he was under the impression that it was legal in the United Arab Emirates. He said he had previously looked up the UAE law on the internet and read somewhere that CBD was allowed, and even showed the security official a screenshot of what he had read, but was told CBD is treated no differently than any other illicit drug in the UAE even though it produces no psychoactive effects.
That was when he was escorted away from his friends, who were ordered to get on the flight under threat of arrest. After spending more than 24 hours in the first holding cell, where he passed out from hypoglycemia, he was transported to another jail where he was ordered to take a urine test to determine if he did, in fact, use the CBD for medical reasons as opposed to trafficking the CBD.
He said prosecutors reduced the charge from felony trafficking to misdemeanor possession after testing positive for CBD, which proved in their eyes he was a consumer and not a trafficker. But he has been living a nightmare ever since with no idea when he will be allowed to return home.
“In many cases, visitors have been forced to stay in the country for six or more months before finally being found innocent,” Stirling wrote in her email.
Stirling said Dubai officials target visitors, especially Americans because they see it as an opportunity to shake them down for money.
“As Dubai increases marketing itself as a tourist destination to US citizens, we are seeing an increase in unfair arrests,” Stirling added. “Visitors have been targeted by locals who see them as a source of funds. Americans are vulnerable to false allegations whereby the accuser seeks monetary funds to “drop the case.” We’ve also seen numerous arrests for prescription medicine, even where it is legal in the UAE.”
Family Reaction
Wimberly’s daughter, Candis Wimberly, who describes her father as the “funniest person on this planet,” said she thought he was joking when he messaged her and told her he had been arrested for trafficking in CBD.
“My dad is a very big jokester, so I didn’t believe him at first,” she said in a telephone interview with Atlanta Black Star.
“I thought he was joking, so I was laughing. It took about five minutes for me to realize he was serious, and I became devastated and felt so helpless because there was nothing I could do to help him,” she continued.
Although she was raised by her mother in Virginia while her dad lived in Georgia, she remained close to her father and spoke to him on a regular basis. She said her father enrolled at Florida State University after retiring from the Navy to pursue a degree in criminal justice, graduating in the summer of 2017, the same year she graduated from high school in Virginia.
“He walked in his graduation, then flew up to Virginia to watch me walk. He did it when I graduated college as well,” Candis added.
She said family members have been trying to contact as many politicians as possible to help her father, but there is not much anybody can do.
Back in Dubai, 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.
He also contacted the U.S. Embassy in Dubai but was told they could do nothing to help him. He calls the prosecutor’s office daily but has received little updates or information on his case. He has been trying to remain upbeat and positive – seeing the funny side of things as he always does – but it has been difficult.
“I’m hurting because I served my country, and I just want to go home,” he said. “I want nothing special. I will pay my fine, but I just want to go home.”
