The US airman-turned-social media influencer and his brother — sentenced to jail in Dubai last month after claiming they were lured and drugged at a yacht party — were freed from prison Tuesday, putting an end to the sibling’s four-month “nightmare.”
Joseph and Joshua Lopez arrived home in their native Ohio, Detained in Dubai, an organization dedicated to helping people facing legal issues in the United Arab Emirates, announced late Tuesday night.
“I am pleased to announce veteran Joseph Lopez and his brother, Joshua have arrived safely in Ohio after a short Dubai vacation turned into a terrible nightmare,” Crisis Manager and CEO of Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling, wrote in a statement.
Joseph Lopez was all smiles as he landed at Los Angeles International Airport hours as he recalled his first moments of freedom.
“Somehow got pulled out of a Middle Eastern prison, sat in deportation for hours, flew halfway across the world and now in Los Angeles.. all without sleeping yet.. what a strange day this has been,” he wrote.
In a separate post on Wednesday, the Air Force vet announced that he and his brother were released from prison and thanked “everyone who fought” for his freedom.
“You tried to steal my future, took my entire life savings and put me into debt, drug my family through this mess, jailed me, imprisoned me,” Lopez wrote in a post alongside a video titled, ‘Dear Dubai.’
“I just lived something that is going to sound like a movie to many, and now I will share my experience with you to the world, and the experience of others who do not deserve such things.”
The Lopez’s terrifying ordeal abroad started when they traveled to the UAE on May 25, hoping to generate luxurious content in the City of Gold.
However, on June 2, the brothers spent the night at nightclub Bla Bla before an Uber driver approached them and offered to take them to an “afterparty” at a nearby hotel.
Joseph Lopez reluctantly agreed to pay the bill, Detained in Dubai reported.
The organization claimed the brothers were then gearing up to call it a night when they were approached by a man who invited them to a yacht party.
Joseph Lopez — who left the Air Force less than a year ago — explained that he was “done spending for the night,” but the man insisted they were “American guests” and not to worry about spending money.
Onboard, the brothers were given more drinks from the staff, who later charged them $2,722, before one woman offered them another refreshment.
“This girl brought me a drink, and after she brought me this drink, I don’t remember anything,” Joseph Lopez previously told Fox 19 Now.
“They were given one drink onboard the yacht, and the next thing they remember is being taken away by plain-clothed police officers in an unmarked vehicle,” Stirling previously wrote.
The brothers and Stirling claimed the pair were being abducted on foreign soil but were instead brought to the Al Barsha police station, where they remained from June 3 to June 12.
“The police did not test their blood for presence of any drugs or sedatives despite the boys’ request for them to do so,” Stirling wrote.
Police charged the brothers with assaulting an officer, resisting arrest, damaging a patrol vehicle, and alcohol consumption.
They had bonded out but were given a travel ban preventing them from returning to the US.
Late last month, the Lopez Brothers were both sentenced to one month in jail for alcohol consumption while on a “tourist visit to the Emirates” and were fighting the charges of damaging government property and assaulting an officer before they were released.
Detained in Dubai thanked Ohio Senator and Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance for his “help and support” in ensuring the brothers’ safe return.
“I thank Senator JD Vance who was highly supportive of his constituents and keen to get them home as fast as possible,” the CEO of the non-profit wrote.
“With the combined support of Senator Vance and a strong campaign, the Lopez brothers managed to escape the prison sentence they’d been served.”
Vance had been in “constant communication with the State Department, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in the United States and the constituents’ family” and was “monitoring the as-yet-unresolved legal proceedings carefully,” a spokesperson for Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate told Fox News in August.
Stirling pointed out that the incident with the Lopez brothers “should serve as a warning to tourists who are under the mistaken belief that the UAE is completely safe.”
“Joseph and Joshua were targeted, lured and drugged while trying to enjoy a harmless vacation. This kind of crime is only spoken about when raised by victims. It won’t be in the Dubai annual crime statistics,” she claimed.
