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The family of an American who has been locked up in a horrid United Arab Emirates prison for 15 years and is reportedly near death has torn into the Biden administration for ignoring their pleas for help after the White House went out of its way to negotiate the release of WNBA player Brittney Griner from Russian custody.
According to Fox News, Zack Shahin was imprisoned in 2008 and is “now on his deathbed in Dubai,” the capital of the UAE, but the family says no one in the administration is doing anything to help him, even though the UAE helped facilitate Griner’s release.
“I feel like the fact that the United Arab Emirates helped broker the deal for Griner’s release was kind of a slap in the face to my family and I,” Zack’s son, Ramy Shahin, told Fox News morning show co-host Rachel Campos Duffy on Sunday. “And they gave my father’s case… not an ounce of respect.”
“He’s an American citizen that’s been abandoned by the Biden administration as well as the State Department,” he noted further. “Nobody has answered our plea for help, and then seeing Brittney Griner get all the attention… maybe we’re not famous enough. We’re just an ordinary American family, and they completely ignored us.”
Zack Shahin was arrested during a business meeting in 2008 and charged with fraud. He was tried and subsequently convicted, being sentenced to more than 50 years behind bars in horrible conditions. His family has said he is innocent, however.
Family members told the weekend morning show that Zack is currently fighting for his life and has been in a hospital for the past three months. He has undergone a several surgical procedures including amputations and is continuing to fight off an infection. The family said that he has had portions of his body cut away as the infection has been spreading.
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His family said they have pushed for government intervention through the Levinson Act, which provides resources to loved ones who have family members held abroad but have been unsuccessful.
Zack’s sister-in-law, Aida Dagher, said Zack’s case met a vast majority of the criteria under the bipartisan measure, but the government turned its cheek anyway.
In a final attempt to get Zack home, his family submitted mercy letters to the State Department on Nov. 23. The Shahins went back and forth with State Department officials for nearly two weeks, revising their letters until they were finally sent to the United Arab Emirates on Dec. 6.
During that time, and unbeknownst to the Shahin family, the Biden administration was negotiating for the release of Griner, with UAE diplomats serving as intermediaries in talks with Russian counterparts.
“We had seven criteria out of the 11, and we did not get any form of response,” Dagher told the network. “We just got ignorance. In fact, we’re getting neglect and ignorance from the State Department, from the Biden administration. There is complete silence. We are demanding answers. Why was he denied? President Biden promised to take care of wrongfully detained Americans. He is very much wrongfully detained.
“We don’t want to talk here about how innocent he is because he is… it took them nine and a half years to convict him,” she added. “They had nothing against him. The big four auditing firms went through his accounts. There was nothing, no provisions, nothing.”
Originally from Lebanon, Zack Shahin’s family moved to Texas when he was a young boy. When he was old enough, he got a job as a truck driver in Houston and eventually worked his way up the corporate ladder at Pepsi.
“The last known person to witness Zack in jail, Martin Lonergan, detailed horrific ‘inhumane’ and ‘degrading’ conditions he is currently facing as he endures the fight for his life,” Fox News reported, adding that Lonergan lost 77 pounds and developed a heart condition while he was imprisoned.
“Zach is dying… I don’t know how much longer he’ll last,” Martin Lonergan said. “His mental health is failing. He’s trying to take his own life several times recently. His conditions are so harsh. It’s a wonderful, amazing place for the five-star hotels, but down the road, there is a hell that you cannot imagine.”
