Gulf pair condemn 'harsh' jail

Ian Bamling and Lynn Majakas at Heathrow Airport

Two Britons have condemned the "harsh conditions" of their imprisonment in Abu Dhabi after being pardoned and allowed to return home.

Social worker Ian Bamling, 31, and 45-year-old Lynn Majakas were sentenced to four-and-a-half years for drug smuggling.

In a statement, they said they had been held in "overcrowded" cells and "deprived of the most basic of human rights".

It is understood that the pair - who arrived back at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday morning - were released in line with the holy Muslim celebrations of Ramadan.

In this day and age, you cannot imagine that people are treated with such little humanity

Ian Bamling and Lynn Majakas

The statement said: "For two years and two months, we have been living in harsh conditions, in prison for a crime we did not commit.

"It is hard to imagine the appalling conditions in which we and other prisoners have had to live.

"In this day and age, you cannot imagine that people are treated with such little humanity and deprived of the most basic of human rights.

"The cells are overcrowded. There are only the most basic sanitary facilities and we are given little or no information about our cases or access to the legal system."

The statement said they would be taking some time to recover from their ordeal, and added that being with their families was the "best Christmas present we could have".

Ian Bamling is greeted by his five-year-old niece Charlotte

Mr Bamling and Ms Majakas, who was head teacher at Bedelsford School for special needs pupils in Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, were caught with a small amount of cannabis and alcohol at Abu Dhabi international airport in October 1988.

They had travelled to the Gulf for a half-term package holiday and were jailed despite a sworn statement from a male friend that the drugs, concealed in a camera case, were not packed by them.

Ms Majakas had told relatives she had to sleep on a concrete floor with other inmates at the spartan Wathba Jail and take cold showers which doubled as toilets.

A colleague said: "We have campaigned for her release and are just pleased that they are both out - and pleased that the Arab government has been prepared to grant clemency."

Lynn Majakas, with one of her pupils

Ian's father, Robert Bamling, of Selby, North Yorkshire, who had travelled to Abu Dhabi in October to try to win his son's release, said Ian was sharing a cell with 11 others.

His attempt was unsuccessful but he was allowed to visit his son in jail.

"I was surprised how well he looked under those conditions," he said. "But he was quite positive that he would be released.

"Ian has never talked about drugs before this happened - that's why it was such a shock right out of the blue."

The statement issued by the released pair added: "The support and love of our families and friends has kept us going, even when we have been in despair.

"We also appreciate the support we have had from the media in telling our story."