Last fall I spent a few days in London setting up a project with Endemol, a reality TV production company. I was surprised to meet some very cool people over there, including Cat Le-Huy, Endemol's head of technology. Cat is a classic computer genius - a little snarky, wants to chat about Ruby on Rails' inherent scalability issues, loves good scotch, and is covered in tattoos. On my last night in town he invited me to a fetish model party, but I had to decline so I could get some work done. Yeah, I know, even Shannon thinks I should've gone.

Today I learned that Cat has been imprisoned in Dubai in what appears to be a clear violation of his human rights. He was originally arrested on suspicion of drug possession but when it was discovered that he was only carrying some over-the-counter jet lag medication he was strip searched, forced to sign an untranslated arabic-language document, and faced with charges that some specs of dirt in his luggage were actually hashish. Currently he is being held indefinitely without any charges filed against him, pending an analysis of his OTC drugs. If the possession charges stick, he's facing a 4-year prison sentence.

Personally, I think the authorities just didn't like a dude with tats and a big chain giving them attitude.

Please take a moment to learn more about Cat's situation and help him out, whether you believe in good ole human rights or reality TV websites or just want to see him solve the Rails scaling issue. More information is here:
http://thetruthaboutdubai.com/

You can also read the original story from his partner here:
http://users.livejournal.com/_yungfuktoi_/306878.html
And his friend in Dubai:
http://pixthulu.livejournal.com/23108.html

If you use Digg, please digg his story here.
If you use [link], please tag his story as well.

Please consider signing the petition to free him here:
http://thetruthaboutdubai.com/?page_id=3

Please repost, forward, and generally spread this message so we can bring Cat home. If you're friends with the Sheikh, put in a good word for Cat and see if he'll swing a pardon - I don't think Cat plans any return trips to Dubai and I'd really like to get invited to another fetish ball.