Today Ryan de Souza sits in a prison in Dubai. He, along with Sydney Lemos, CEO, and owner of Exential Group was sentenced to over 500 years in prison. After being sentenced almost two weeks ago, each will be in prison for the next five lifetimes. But Ryan’s family are still hoping that he will somehow get an early release from jail.
A father speaks out
Ryan’s family is steadfast in declaring his innocence. His father speaks out. “Ryan was only an employee and has worked for two years in the company from 2014 as office administrator and for the last four months in the accounts section. However the Exential Company was running the investment scheme for the last six years”, says Martires de Souza.
According to him, Ryan went to Dubai on a clerical visa and not a business one. A clerical visa is one that is issued to people that are going to work for companies in Dubai. He wasn’t going as a businessman or the partner of one but as an employee.
“If my son was running the business or was a partner then he would not have stayed in an apartment provided by the company on sharing basis. He was drawing a salary of around 4000 dirhams and after meeting all his expenses he would spend the balance on flight tickets to travel to Goa to meet us” informed his father.
The family is doing everything they can to secure an early release
Ryan’s family wishes and hopes that he will get an early release from prison. His arrest has left everyone who knows him completely shocked and stunned. As soon as the news reached the public’s ears, his family friends got together on social media to ask everyone for support and prayers in getting him home. They even held a rally in his home village of Siolim to ask for help. The Support for Ryan page is still up on Facebook and you can read comments on Ryan from his family and friends.
The family has requested officials from both the Union and state governments to intervene in securing an early release for Ryan. Martires said, “We are planning to write to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) requesting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene in the matter.”
It’s not just Ryan de Souza, a 25-year-old Tourism studies graduate who was sentenced to life in prison. Sydney Lemos and his wife, Valany Cardozo Lemos have also been given the same sentence. Valany, however, is believed to have left Dubai and landed in Goa.
Ryan was a football player who played in many tournaments locally as well as in the professional league. On April 13, 2014, Ryan officially joined the Exential Company in Dubai as ‘office administrator’. His contract was for five years at a salary of Dhs 4000. Subsequently, on March 15, 2016, he was promoted to the accounts section.
Today, his parents are doing whatever they can to get him an early release from his life sentence in prison. They are are counting on the state government to help out as certain political leaders had assured to help in the matter after the public rally held on the Siolim grounds.
Information credit – The Navhind Times
ItsGoa/APR/KDGP
