Father from Fife detained in Baghdad jail over bank loan

A father-of-three from Fife is locked up in a prison in Baghdad after he was arrested over a small bank loan taken out when he arrived in Iraq to start a job.

Construction engineer Brian Glendinning, 43, from Kincardine was starting a new role at a BP oil refinery when he was cuffed and taken to a holding cell on September 12. Now he is facing extradition after being served an Interpol Red Notice, which campaigners have branded “outrageous”.

Mr Glen dinning was informed on arrest that an Interpol notice had been issued by Qatar over missed payments, on what fa mily members said had been an £20,000 loan taken out in 2018 when he had worked in the country.

Mr Glendinning’s wife, Kimberly, 39, a beaut y therapist, said her husband had struggled to make the full payments after becoming ill at Christmas and losing his job in Scotland, but that monthly instalments had still been made to the Qatar National Bank with whom he was in regular touch.

His family are now worried he will be sent to Qatar, where human rights violations are notorious, and jailed.

His brother John has launched an online fundraiser which has raised more than £4,800 in 24 hours of the £40,000 target. John said his brother went to Iraq to earn money but instead is being treated like “a crime lord”.

He said :“Brian is a hardworking man who has always put his family first. He is the life and soul of any family occasion or party.

“This is a huge shock. How could they extradite him over a small bank debt?

“Qatar does this all the time as an extortion method. Brian had been in touch with the bank and was making repayments. When he went over to Iraq it was to earn money, take care of his family and pay bills.”

Interpol expert Radha Stirling, founder of Interpol and Extradition Reform (IPEX), said :“I spoke with Brian’ s mother Margaret. She was distraught and in tears. It really is a nightmare for his family.

“The bank deliberately activates wrongful Interpol notices as a debt collection tactic akin to extortion. They wait for a customer to be arrested and hope the parents will pay the debt themselves.” ↑ Averi• Shepley, 47, was last seen on September 30