A businessman caged for 37 years in Qatar over a bounced cheque fears he may never see his family again. Jonathan Nash fears he will die behind bars in one of the world’s harshest prisons after being dealth the hefty sentence in December.
The 48-year-old, Britain, has not seen his two children and elderly mum in three years.
In a phone call behind bars he told a friend: “I’m not sure that I will ever get out”, reports the Mail Online.
The distraught businessman continued: “What is causing me the most pain is that I may never see my family again. I don’t know who else to turn to.”
Nash, who was the former CEO of construction commercial company Top House, believes he was the victim of a dirty tricks campaign which led clients hastily cashing in cheques.
He claims this coupled with an internal dispute led to the company blocking payments.
As the 48-year-old had written the cheques himself he was personally accountable under Qatari law and was thrown in jail in March 2015.
He has spent the last three years in the Central Prison in the country’s capital Doha.
Before Christmas he was sentenced to 37 years in prison for fraud meaning he will not make it out until he is 80-years-old.
The sentence was handed out in Nash’s absence as he was not given any opportunity to explain himself or given any formal legal representation.