Inmate vows hunger strike

A businessman was due to go on hunger strike in Dubai Central Jail this morning to highlight his plight.

Irish dad-of-two Christopher Renehan was jailed for six years after he signed cheques for his construction firm that bounced.

Renehan, 36, says he wrote the cheques believing money his company was owed for massive refurbishment projects in Dubai would be paid on time. Now, in a bizarre twist, the Dhs32 million owed to Renehan, which would see him freed from jail, is not being paid out because he’s no longer “authorised” to sign documents to release it.

After he got the news that the cash is tied up in red tape, desperate Renehan discussed going on hunger strike with his family in Ireland in a series of phone calls from jail. His dad Michael, speaking from Dublin, last night told 7DAYS: “I’m gutted. I’m frightened he’ll do some permanent damage to himself.”

Renehan’s wife and their two children, aged four and one, are now living with his parents. His dad said: “I had tried to persuade him not to do this but it is his last resort. I just hope things work out. I’m not sure if the law can be changed for just one Paddy.”

From this morning Renehan was to refuse meals until somebody steps in to help him get his cash. He said in a statement: “I fully understand the serious implications of this action. However, after nearly seven months in a UAE jail and with all my attempts to resolve my problems being frustrated and denied, I feel it is my only recourse.”

myra@7days.ae