Windsor man Salim Alaradi who was recently freed from prison in the United Arab Emirates has finally boarded a plane on his way home.
Dear World: Salim AlAradi is #FreeAtLast#cdnpoli #uae @JustinTrudeau @MinCanadaFA #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/idRtjgXpYF
— Free Salim Alaradi (@freesalimaradi) June 2, 2016
Alaradi was freed from prison Tuesday after spending 643 days there. The plan was for Alaradi to leave for Istanbul, Turkey Wednesday morning to seek medical treatment and meet up with his daughter and wife, but he was told he could not leave the country.
Alaradi's daughter Marwa says she's very happy and relieved that he's finally coming home.
"My emotions are all over the place, I did not expect it," she says. "This week we were facing problems, one after another, after another, and today when we heard that my father left the UAE, it was just amazing."
Marwa says her family will be leaving in a few days to meet Alaradi in Istanbul.
"The first thing I'm going to do, I'm going to hug him. But then I want talk to him and have good father-daughter conversations. I miss things like his advice, his jokes, all these simple things... I just miss that and I can't wait to meet him so I can experience it again."
Alaradi was initially imprisoned on terror-related charges. Those charges were later reduced to lesser offences earlier this year.
Alaradi was on vacation with his family in Dubai when he was suddenly arrested in August 2014. He was among ten men of Libyan origin detained around the same time some of them have since been released.
Alaradi was acquitted of terror-related charges by the top court in the UAE after 21 months behind bars. He was re-detained after his acquittal.
- With files from The Canadian Press
