OPPOSITION Spokesman on Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade Edmund Bartlett confirmed yesterday that Jamaican pilot Paul Stephens, who was imprisoned in Qatar, had left that country and was on his way to Jamaica.

Stephens boarded a flight that was set to depart Qatar yesterday and would transit through London and Miami before ultimately arriving in Jamaica.

“I am heartened by news that procedures related to Mr Stephens’ return to Jamaica have finally been completed such that he could have departed Qatar on Sunday enroute to Jamaica. This development is the culmination of the efforts of many, particularly his family and friends, who have stuck with him, come to his assistance and made representation on his behalf throughout what has been a most difficult experience,” Bartlett said.

Stephens, 40, had been locked up in a Qatar prison for close to three years for alleged sexual molestation of a minor. He was among several Jamaican pilots who migrated to Qatar in 2010 after the merger of Air Jamaica and Caribbean Airlines. In 2011, he was detained after being accused of sexual molestation, but was eventually found guilty of mistrust of a minor and sent to Salwa prison, where his family says he has suffered under deplorable conditions, and has been subjected to beatings and stabbings.

He was pardoned on July 7 this year after serving approximately three years in prison.