Former Sharjah resident dies after losing 'right to die' UK legal case

ABU DHABI // A former Sharjah resident who spent years fighting for the right to end his life has died of natural causes.

Tony Nicklinson, 58, was left fully aware of his surroundings but paralysed from the neck down and unable to speak after a stroke in 2005.

The father of two died today from “natural causes”, although the exact cause was unclear.

Before his stroke, Mr Nicklinson lived in Sharjah, where he worked as an engineer. His wife, Jane, was a nurse at Al Zahra hospital.

But after the stroke, which he suffered on a business trip in Greece, they had to move back to England for treatment.

Mr Nicklinson and his family have since been fighting through the British courts for his right to die.

In April a high court judge ruled his action could proceed, but last week the family lost the case.

Mr Nicklinson earlier said he wished to have the right to end his life, even though he was then not ready to die.

On his Twitter page, his family posted that their father had “died peacefully [this] morning of natural causes”.

In a later tweet, they asked for privacy at this difficult time.

After his death, his family tweeted, “before he died, he asked us to tweet: ‘Goodbye world, the time has come, I had some fun’”.

osalem@thenational.ae