This is another one of those deals where the legal system of another country has completely gone overboard with the application of their laws on foreign citizens. How many thousands of contractors have transited through their airport over the course of this war, all spending money in their shops or even staying at local hotels, and this is how you treat them? Last I checked, the UAE and the US were still friendly towards one another, and this is how they treat a citizen of the US?
Nicholas Moody served his country in the National Guard during the war, and he was serving his country again as a security contractor, and this is no way to treat a veteran like this. Especially imprisoning the guy over something as stupid as carrying a weapons cleaning kit and a forward grip, or whatever minor parts he needed to do his job. The US Embassy in the UAE should be all over this one.
Now if he had an RPG or AK 47 in his bag, I might see the logic with the UAE detaining him. But for something as petty and as stupid as this, and for over seven weeks? Shame on the UAE. Commonsense should dictate here, and I highly recommend everyone to friend request the Facebook Page for freeing Nicholas Moody and write the US Embassy in the UAE, and do what you can to support his release. –Matt
Security contractor from Nevada locked up in UAE for 7 weeks
By Greg Botelho
A security contractor from Nevada has been locked up for seven weeks in the United Arab Emirates, his mother said Thursday, as his family seeks answers about what landed him in prison and how long he’ll remain there.
Having served in Iraq and then Afghanistan as part of the California and then Nevada National Guards, Nicholas Moody, 23, was working for a private security contractor when he stopped over in Abu Dhabi, his mother Lorina Moody told CNN. He was arrested on September 29, during an 18-hour layover while heading back from Iraq, for carrying firearms accessories — parts that could accompany a gun, though no firearm itself — which is illegal in the United Arab Emirates, his mother said.
“Our son is the type of individual who would not have willingly broken the law,” said Moody, of Susanville, California. “Now, we’re caught in a situation where we don’t [know] where to turn to. We don’t really have any way of knowing what’s going to happen to him.”
The U.S. State Department confirmed that Nicholas Moody has been detained, saying that U.S. consular officers visited him on September 30, October 6 and November 10.
“During those visits, he conveyed he was being treated fairly,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the case.”
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