DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- An American businessman jailed for more than four years in Dubai under suspicion of corruption says he has started a hunger strike to push for a trial and greater U.S. diplomatic pressure in his case.

Attorneys for Zack Shahin say the Ohio native has been in legal limbo since his arrest in March 2008 in probes over alleged fiscal irregularities at real estate firm Deyaar, where Shahin was CEO.

Speaking over the telephone from detention, Shahin says he began the hunger strike earlier this week.

Spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, Robert Arbuckle, said on Thursday that American officials are aware of the hunger strike and noted that the delays in his case suggest "unequal treatment" compared with others accused of financial crimes in the United Arab Emirates.