A Sydney man detained in the Middle East for over a year has made an emotional plea from jail for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to help him return to Australia.
Naim Aziz Abbas was arrested in Dubai in October 2017, accused of spying on behalf of Qatar, and is now being held in the Al Wathba prison facility outside Abu Dhabi.
Relatives of the Iraqi-born Australian citizen have previously pleaded with the Federal Government to intervene in his case, fearing the 65-year-old could face the death penalty if found guilty of espionage.
Mr Abbas, who has always insisted he is innocent, has now appealed directly to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for help, in a telephone conversation recorded by his brother in Sydney.
"Please, please because I have been accused of something I have not done, there is no proof at all, there is no witnesses at all," Mr Abbas says in the recording obtained by the ABC.
"I wish the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs to do everything possible to save me from this situation."
Mr Abbas's case is considered particularly sensitive given political and military tensions between the UAE and Qatar have intensified over the past year, with the UAE continuing to accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism.
Naim Abbas had worked as a train driver in Sydney before moving to Dubai in 2009 to work for the UAE Roads and Transport Authority.
Earlier this year he appeared briefly in court where, according to consular notes, the judge told him he was suspected of passing information about the Dubai Road and Transport Authority to the Qatar Government in exchange for money.
Mr Abbas's family remains hopeful he can be released after British academic Matthew Hedges was this month pardoned by the UAE over espionage charges.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs says consular officials are providing assistance to Naim Abbas, including liaising with his family in Australia, but has warned the Government cannot intervene in another country's legal matters or court proceedings.
Mr Abbas is expected to be sentenced next month.
