Asim Ghafoor was a prominent civil-rights lawyer and was stopped by Dubai airport while he was in transit.
Asim Ghafoor is a US citizen and civil-rights lawyer. He was convicted in United Arab Emirates this week of money laundering.
Ghafoor, who used to represent Jamal Khashoggi as a journalist, was released after paying a fine. Faisal Gill, his lawyer, said that Ghafoor had been assisted by the US embassy in Dubai.
Wednesday’s court upheld Ghafoor’s in-absentia conviction. He was sentenced to a fine of 5,000,000 dirhams ($1.4m). It also overturned a three-year sentence he received in May.
UAE officials had no immediate comment.
Ghafoor, a Virginia resident, was transiting through Dubai airport on July 14, when he was stopped by police for the in-absentia charge.
UAE’s state news agency WAM said he was picked up following an “assistance request” from US officials investigating Ghafoor’s “involvement in tax evasion and suspicious money transfers”.
US officials have said the arrest was not made at Washington’s request.
Media reports in the United States claim that Ghafoor, who represents Muslim Americans in civil rights cases, has been under surveillance by the US in the past.
The lawyer’s in-absentia trial and detention last month, while US President Joe Biden was visiting the region, drew criticism from rights groups and some members of Congress.
Ghafoor’s supporters say he was denied due process and was unaware of the charges before being arrested.
Others have suggested that the arrest might have been motivated by Khashoggi’s ties to him, who was assassinated in the Saudi Arabian consulate at Turkey in 2018.
UAE officials have repeatedly said the case against Ghafoor was strictly about financial crimes.
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