THE parents of a British teacher locked up in a Kuwaiti jail despite being cleared of drugs charges have pleaded for her release.
Sara Assayed, 35, was caged for 10 years in March after drugs were allegedly found in her car.
The primary school teacher from Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, successfully appealed the decision in June.
But despite her conviction being overturned she remains behind bars in a solitary cell.
Sara’s heartbroken parents say she is being kept in an “overcrowded” and “inhumane” prison in the Kuwaiti desert.
They are begging the UK government to help secure their daughter’s release from the “nightmare”, but say the Foreign Office tells them “we can’t do anything”.
‘NIGHTMARE’
Sara’s father, Ziad Assayed, told the BBC: “The worst feeling in the world is when you feel helpless.
“Your daughter is there. She needs your help and you can’t help her.
“And she’s there for the wrong reasons, because this is unjust for her to be in prison when she’s innocent.”
He added: “We’re just worried and she’s crying. She calls at night and she’s crying.”
We’re just worried and she’s crying. She calls at night and she’s cryingSara’s Father, Ziad Assayed
Her mum Helen Conibear said: “It’s terrible. I can’t sleep at night. It’s been a nightmare.
“I just try to talk about my day and talk about what things happened to take her mind off the situation there.
“That’s all I can do. Maybe I’ll never see her again. When will I see her again?”
Sara was arrested in March 2019 after Kuwaiti cops stopped her and another teacher, claiming to have found drugs in the car.
FAMILY’S AGONY
Possessing or using drugs in the Gulf country can carry a 10-year jail sentence, with traffickers facing the death penalty.
Sara’s mum and dad say she has maintained her innocence and wasn’t allowed to speak during her trial, which only lasted a few minutes.
Last month, an appeal court quashed her conviction as there was insufficient evidence.
But she is still behind bars with the process to deport her having been stalled.
Sara, who was born in Jordan, has lived in Kuwait since she was 17 after the family moved there.
Mr Assayed said: “From the beginning, we believe that the police investigation was all fabricated.
“They took her car, they put something in the car and then it came back.”
He added: “We were waiting for her to be deported. Kuwaiti law says that anyone who was involved in a case, whether guilty or not guilty, has to be deported from Kuwait.”
A petition calling for Sara’s release has received nearly 600 signatures.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are assisting a British national who is detained in Kuwait and are in touch with their family and the local authorities.”
