Ohio Air Force veteran and his brother sentenced to four months in ‘notorious’ Dubai prison after alcohol-fuelled incident on yacht

Two brothers from Ohio, one of them an Air Force veteran, were sentenced to four months in prison in Dubai following an incident in June in which they got drunk on a yacht, a felony in the United Arab Emirates.

Radha Stirling, executive director of human rights group Detained in Dubai and an advocate for Joseph and Joshua Lopez, claims the brothers were drugged and robbed the same night they were taken to prison. They are appealing to US lawmakers, including Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance, for help. The drug charges have yet to be officially confirmed.

“Senator Vance's office is in constant contact with the State Department, the United Arab Emirates Embassy in the United States and the constituents' families,” Vance's spokesman Parker Magid told Fox News Digital. “Senator Vance is closely monitoring the ongoing legal proceedings.”

Stirling said the Lopez brothers had appealed the ruling, claiming they had been “targeted by fraudsters while on holiday in Dubai”.

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Joseph Lopez, an Ohio Air Force veteran and father, is being held in Dubai with his brother Joshua for drinking alcohol on a yacht. (Arrested in Dubai)

“While local criminals appear to be targeting tourists with the support of law enforcement, Dubai is far from the 'safe tourist destination' it is marketed as,” Stirling said.

The State Department told Fox News Digital in a statement that it was aware of the recent arrest of the Lopez brothers.

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“We take our role in assisting U.S. citizens abroad seriously and are monitoring the situation,” a spokesperson said. “For privacy and other reasons, we cannot comment further at this time. U.S. citizens are subject to the laws of the countries they visit or live in, even if those laws differ from U.S. law.”

The State Department told Fox News Digital in a statement that it was aware of the recent arrest of the Lopez brothers. (Instagram/Joshua Lopez)

Neither the UAE Embassy nor the UAE Tourism Police responded to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

The State Department has issued a Level 2 travel warning for the United Arab Emirates due to terrorist threats. The State Department website for the United Arab Emirates notes that alcohol is “very limited” in certain private areas and “[p]Public drunkenness and driving under the influence of alcohol are considered very serious offenses, regardless of the level of blood alcohol content.”

24-year-old Joseph Lopez has a baby at home in the USA. (Arrested in Dubai)

“Individuals arrested for alcohol-related offenses are routinely detained for many days while awaiting trial. Punishment can include lengthy prison sentences, heavy fines, and, for Muslims (even those with U.S. citizenship), flogging,” the website states.

The State Department also points to the country's “strict” laws on drugs, public decency, photography, social media use, and LGBTQ-related activities or preferences.

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Stirling said if the brothers' appeal is unsuccessful, Joseph, a veteran and father of 24, and Joshua would have to spend “months in Dubai's prisons, which are notorious for their human rights abuses.”

Joshua and Joseph Lopez were sentenced to four months in prison in Dubai for drinking alcohol on a yacht, but the brothers claimed they were drugged. (Instagram/Joshua Lopez)

“Visitors flock to Dubai and face the most absurd charges for alleged crimes they did not even commit. Last year, Tierra Allen was targeted by a car rental agency, Elizabeth de las Santos by an immigration officer and Peter Clark was arrested because residue of hashish was found in his blood, which he had smoked legally in Las Vegas weeks before his flight,” Stirling said.

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She is urging the United States to tighten travel warnings for Americans traveling to Dubai.

“Not only are they robbed and extorted, but they usually end up in prison,” she said.

Fox News' Mollie Markowitz contributed to this report.