Nevada National Guard member arrested in UAE for carrying firearms parts
Nicholas Moody called his mother, Lorina , from the Abu Dhabi prison two weeks ago on Veterans Day.
The 23-year-old Reno resident sounded weary. He has been behind bars for seven weeks in a country half a world away.
Moody, who recently served in Afghanistan with the 221st Cavalry Wildhorse Squadron in the Nevada National Guard, was arrested Sept. 29 in the United Arab Emirates after airport officials found firearm accessories stowed in his luggage.
His breaking the law wasn’t intentional, said Lorina Moody from her home in Susanville, Calif.
Nicholas Moody was returning to Reno from Iraq, where he worked as an armed guard for a private security contractor.
There was an 18-hour layover in Abu Dhabi in between flights, so he took his bags and checked into a hotel for an overnight stay.
The next morning he headed to catch his flight when airport officials found a sling, a cleaning kit, a pistol grip, a buttstock, a front grip and a wrench in his bags.
The parts, which were pertinent to his job description, can accompany a gun but "cannot form anything dangerous" by themselves, Lorina Moody said.
Nicholas Moody is being held in al Wathba, Abu Dhabi’s central prison, on charges of possessing firearm accessories. His court date is scheduled for today , exactly two months after his arrest.
His family has hired an English-speaking lawyer who has spoken to Moody twice.
"If he had any indication that he was in any way going to cause concern over these items, he would never have had them with him," Lorina Moody said.
"He assured me he is being treated well. He did not complain. He was a little weary, but he sounded solid. He’s holding up well while waiting out the situation."
Now friends and family are campaigning for his release. A Facebook group called "Help Bring Nick Moody Back Home" has been created to exchange information and stay updated on his case.
Why did they wait nearly two months to go public?
"We’re a very private family, and we contacted officials ourselves; but we felt we were being ineffective," Lorina Moody said.
The family has contacted the offices of Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign and Rep. Dean Heller in hopes of getting Moody’s case noticed by the U.S. State Department, news agencies and anyone else who will listen.
The U.S. State Department is monitoring the case, and consular officers visited Moody on Sept. 30, Oct. 6 and Nov. 10, said State Department spokesman Andy Laine.
"Certainly what we will do is provide him with consular services, we’ll check his health, and he’ll have access to a list of lawyers," Laine said.
He said that because laws in every country are different, it is important for Americans to understand they are subject to those laws, and he encouraged travelers to get acquainted with the laws of the country they’re visiting.
Hundreds of Americans are arrested every year overseas, Laine said.
According to the U.S. State Department’s website, "UAE authorities will confiscate any weapons, weapon parts, ammunition, body armor, handcuffs and/or other military/police equipment transported to or through a civilian airport. U.S. citizens have been arrested and jailed for transporting such weapons and equipment without the expressed written authorization of the UAE government, even though airline and U.S. authorities allowed shipment on a U.S.-originating flight."
Reid spokesman Tom Brede confirmed that Lorina Moody has been in contact with the senator’s office, and they are in talks with the State Department about what can be done to bring Nicholas Moody home.
Chris Blakesley, a professor of international criminal law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said Moody’s two-month prison stint is a long time but not unusual.
"The problem comes down to the natural bureaucracy of any legal system," Blakesley said.
"Files might be sitting on someone’s desk, or the time period before you actually get to court or the dockets are filled. It does happen all the time, and it’s never pleasant. It’s always awful for anybody stuck in jail in a foreign place."
At this point, Lorina Moody said all she can do is wait for the criminal justice system in Abu Dhabi to play out.
"I don’t believe my son is the only one who could fall into this situation," she said. "This is a very difficult situation. It’s very unfamiliar and confusing, exhausting and frustrating.
"It’s also been very eye-opening. We’re learning many things we didn’t think we needed to know but should have known ahead of time. It will be very helpful if we can get Nicholas home, and people can benefit from the knowledge we’ve gained."
Contact Kristi Jourdan at kjourdan@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0279.
• Moody Facebook page• State Department UAE link
