British Architect in Dubai Jail to Be Freed

A British landscape architect, imprisoned for six and a half years for taking excessive commission payments for building the first golf course in the Arabian desert, is expected to be freed today.

George Atkinson, 51, from Rockbourne, Hampshire, was arrested in March 1997 when he returned to the emirate to watch the annual Desert Classic golf tournament. At the same time he was collecting evidence for a lawsuit for the return of assets he had had to surrender, an action which severely embarrassed the crown prince of Dubai.

As well as being given a six year sentence for defrauding the government of millions of pounds in 1998, Atkinson was fined £1.3m. He has been in jail for six months longer than his original sentence.

The father of two has always protested his innocence; his case has been taken up in parliament and a United Nations working group has twice branded his punishment an "arbitrary" detention.

Lawyers for the Dubai government are understood to have confirmed that Atkinson will be freed and immediately deported. The Foreign Office said yesterday it was seeking confirmation of the decision.

His detention and conviction arose out of a dispute over profits and commissions received by Atkinson's company, Golf Landscape Services, which built Emirates Golf Club during the 1980s.

The sample offences with which he was charged amounted to £1.3m but prosecutors alleged that the total value of the fraud was between £5m and £7.5m.

His wife, Helene, and daughters, Alice and Nina, have not seen him since February 1997.

In his 1998 trial, Atkinson, who founded the Desert Classic golf tournament as well as designing the Emirates course, was found guilty of overcharging by 16% when he owned or managed Dubai businesses doing government work.