Peter Margetts

Peter is an author, entrepreneur and now a highly regarded human rights advocate who acts as a communications director for Detained International – the non-for-profit NGO fighting cases of injustice in the UAE. As a communications director, Peter is responsible for press relations and strategic communication with national, international governments and institutions, intergovernmental bodies and other NGO’s. He also undertakes case work with a focus on our clients in the Middle East, where together with the wider teams he guides them through the legal, diplomatic and PR hurdles.

 As many will know, Peters life hasn’t been one of simplicity; from gaining a degree in Building Management and Technology to founding a property investment company based in Dubai, his life soon came to a devastating halt. The 2008 financial crash - a time of anguish and despair for most, yet this was greatly amplified for Peter as he suffered a 42-year prison sentence for bounced cheques. The unjust Dubai draconian laws around insufficient financials can be detrimental and Peter along with his business partners faced a living nightmare.

As well as spending his time fighting human rights violations, Peter has two pride and joys; his daughter Olivia and Leeds United. For Peter, his time inside was made worse by the fact Olivia had just been born, and it would be another 10 years before they could be reunited. He’s now making up for lost time and enjoying every second of free air, while dedicating much of this to helping people in the scenario Peter was in 2 years ago.

“When I look back on the horrors that I encountered throughout them 10 years, only one though comes to mind – it made me stronger, in life things will happen which are out of your reach. You can either beat them or be beaten.”