A Balham businessman has been told he will remain in a Dubai jail after an appeal to quash his conviction was thrown out in court.

It is a fresh blow to a campaign to free Safi Qurashi, 41, who was sentenced to seven years in jail for writing cheques during property deals which subsequently bounced.

The cheques were written as a “security” to guarantee regular payments, which is standard business practise in Dubai.

On Monday, Dubai’s Court of Cassation upheld a lower court's decision to reject Qurashi’s legal challenge against the conviction, which came after he moved to the country in 2004.

His family have always maintained he was wrongly convicted, after a trial which lasted a matter of minutes.

His 11-year-old daughter Sara, and members of his support team, said they were “extremely disappointed” with the court’s decision.

However, they plan on continuing the campaign by gathering for the Dubai Embassy World Protest Day on Saturday.

Supporters will be gathering outside London’s Dubai Embassy, in Prince’s Gate, from 12pm until 2pm.

In a statement campaigners said: “It is imperative that in the UK our protest achieves more than 500 attendees if we are to stand any chance of being taken seriously and having the cases reopened and transferred to the Dubai Civil Courts.”

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