Taiwanese man held in Abu Dhabi released: MOFA

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) A Taiwanese traveler who was taken away by police on Sunday when transiting through Abu Dhabi International Airport has been released from custody but is still not allowed to leave the country, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Friday.

In a statement, MOFA said its office in Dubai received a call from the man's family at 1:30 a.m. Friday (Dubai time) informing the office that he had been set free.

￭ MOFA in talks with Abu Dhabi police over alleged arrest of Taiwanese man

Despite the release, the man, surnamed Chen (陳), still has to report to police to have his travel restrictions lifted, and that cannot happen until Wednesday because of a national holiday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from Saturday to Tuesday, MOFA said.

The ministry did not elaborate on why the man was still not allowed to leave the country.

In the meantime, MOFA's office in Dubai -- in charge of all UAE affairs -- has established contact with the man after his release and is having him stay in the office's dormitory, according to office chief Chen Chun-chi (陳俊吉).

Before the release, MOFA said, the Dubai office had remained in contact with Abu Dhabi police and the man's family, but it had yet to receive any clarification on why the man was taken away by police.

MOFA said it first received a call for help on Monday from the man's wife, surnamed Yang (楊), who was traveling with her husband, and was told that Chen had been taken away by five armed police officers as they were about to board a connecting flight to Turkey.

Yang said she was not able to ask why her husband was taken away and, having cleared immigration, had to board the flight to Istanbul with other members of the tour group they were part of, according to MOFA.

Soon after receiving the phone call, MOFA said, its Dubai office contacted Abu Dhabi police to get information on the case.

Early Wednesday, Abu Dhabi police briefed the office on the incident, without providing further details on whether Chen was arrested and why he was detained, MOFA said.

According to local media, the couple from Yunlin County were at the start of a 16-day tour to Turkey when the incident occurred.