U.S. citizen Zack Shahin, who has been detained in a Dubai prison (UAE) for 1,500 days, has started a hunger strike on Monday, a statement released by U.S. Legal Counsel for Zack Shahin reported.

Shahin has been held in pre-trial detention since March 2008. The 49-year-old faces corruption charges related to his former position as top executive at Deyaar Development.

Zack Shahin started his hunger strike to protest "the failure of the U.S. government to make a public issue with UAE authorities over his imprisonment without bail or trial for more than four years," the statement said.

Dubai authorities have reportedly refused to bring him to trial in order to prevent him from proving its innocence.

"I have been imprisoned for over 1,500 days," Shahin said. "My government has never said a word about me publicly, because they don't want to spoil their comfortable relationship here. Meanwhile, they speak out for people in lots of other countries, like China. Do I have to die here before I get the same consideration?"

According to the statement released by U.S. Legal Counsel for Zack Shahin, the detainee faced 200 court hearings, including 17 that only lasted longer than 3 minutes.

"All I want is due process, to be able to post bail, see my family, and a fair chance to show in court that I am innocent. Is that too much for my government to ask? " added Shahin.