Skadden represented two American citizens — father and son — who were held for 21 months and finally acquitted of any wrongdoing on May 30. They were held incommunicado by United Arab Emirates authorities for five months and interrogated under conditions that a United Nations rapporteur described as torture. The men were initially charged with the capital offense of aiding terrorists in Libya. Those charges were withdrawn and replaced with charges alleging unauthorized assistance to foreign entities, which carries a 15-year maximum sentence. They were acquitted of those charges. The U.S. government believed in their innocence and intervened at the highest level.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates