Scots dad detained in Iraq for 11 months shares images from inside hell-hole jail cell Daily Record 8 hrs ago Kathleen Speirs A Scots dad has told of his 'horror' ordeal after being kept in a hell-hole Iraqi jail cell and detained in the country for almost a year. Thomas Simpson, who has lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) since 2008, was thrown into Basra International Airport's jail on July, 7, 2020. The engineering manager travelled to Iraq for a routine site visit with his employer but was cuffed by police at airport arrivals. Dunfermline-born Thomas discovered an arrest warrant had been issued for him two months earlier, in May 2020.