Australians warned of false arrest in Dubai over Qantas tie-up Helen Kroger, a Liberal Senator, cited the case of two Australian businessmen who are in prison on trumped up fraud charges and a 29-year-old woman, Alicia Gall, who was raped after her drink was spiked and then imprisoned for eight months for having sex outside marriage. Ms Kroger, who has been a strong advocate for the release of the businessmen, Matthew Joyce and Marcus Lee, said she felt compelled to highlight the risks of travelling through Dubai. "I cannot put the commercial interests of our premier carrier before the human rights and safekeeping of Australian citizens which are still under threat today," she told Parliament. It is still happening in Dubai as we speak. Ms Kroger said she was concerned about the threat to unmarried, gay and religious passengers. She referred to article 177 of the Penal Code of Dubai, which imposes imprisonment of up to 10 years on consensual sodomy. "What precautions and warnings will Qantas provide unmarried passengers who are single or in de facto relationships?" she said. Will there be warnings to gay Australians transiting through Dubai?... Under a recent 10-year deal with Emirates, Qantas shifted its hub for travellers to Europe from Singapore to Dubai. There are also potential issues for Australians of Jewish decent and for Australian Christians who have made pilgrimage to Israel. Citing the work of Detained in Dubai, a British activist group, she said there had been a number of "random events" which highlighted the dangers of transiting through Dubai. She mentioned the ordeal of a 32-year-old Australian man, Sun McKay, who was grabbed roughly by a man at the airport. "Sun was surprised at this harassment and responded with what I could only describe as a typically Australian, 'What the ****?'" she said. Later, the man who assailed Sun identified himself as being an undercover officer, at which point Sun apologised but this was not enough. Sun was interrogated, his passport confiscated and he was detained for a number of months.