Dubai: Inquiry tells British holidaymaker dies after being beaten by guards | UK | News

A British holidaymaker has died after being beaten and starved to death by brutal guards at the notorious Dubai police station, an inquest has heard.

The family of 39-year-old Lee Brown said officials there did not do enough to prevent his death, as they accused the Foreign Office of prioritizing foreign relations over the welfare of businessmen.

According to the Mirror, officials in the Gulf states told them that Mr Brown beat himself after “waving his arms”.

But the inmates took great personal risk by calling the family to tell them he was beaten and starved to death by police and needed help or he would die.

Mr Brown flew to the Gulf countries on 6 April 2011 and planned to stop for a few days on his way to visit his girlfriend in Indonesia.

Walthamstow Coroners Court was told he allegedly assaulted a maid at the Burj Al Arab Hotel the next day before being taken to the notorious Bur Dubai police station, where he died five days later.

Interrogation jurors were told that despite being asked, UAE authorities never provided footage of the alleged incident or his time at the police station.

Mr Brown, from Dagenham, East London, loves to travel and is considering converting to Islam in order to marry his girlfriend of about a year.

Working 7 days a week, he runs his building, painting, decorating business to save money to fly around the world.

In a statement released after his arrest, Mr Brown claimed a man who did not work at the hotel came in and threw him out.

When he returned, he said there were 20 people in his room and he was later beaten and dragged to the police station in only his underwear.

On 8 April, he was taken to the prosecutor’s office where he reportedly jumped to the floor and onto a chair, sustaining minor injuries to his face, arms and chest.

He was then detained in prison for four days, where his condition deteriorated.

On the evening of April 11, his brother Steve and sister-in-law Susan received a panicked call from another detained Briton who told them their loved one was “in a very bad situation” and was at risk of being in custody. died during the period.

The inmates told them: “You have to get help. If you continue, Lee may die.” They said Mr Brown had blood on his forehead from his injuries and was handcuffed in solitary confinement.

They added: “He was beaten badly by the police and his condition is very bad. Seek help and get help from the British embassy immediately.”

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The next day around 2am, the same inmate called Susan: “Did you call the embassy? They locked him up, they beat him so hard, he was unconscious on the floor, he needed help .

“Dubai police beat him badly, he wasn’t fed or watered, he’s been handcuffed alone, with shackles on his ankles, he appears to be sleeping, in and out of consciousness.

“He was bleeding from his face and chest due to a wound to his nose and had wounds in the temple area of ​​his head.”

Another French prisoner also told them: “You have to ask for help for him, he hasn’t eaten or drank for days.”

His sister-in-law contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs immediately after the two calls, but claimed officials were very “indifferent” to the family.

A few hours later, a Foreign Office official visited the prison but was told Mr Brown was asleep and turned away.

A few days after Lee’s death, Steve and Susannah flew to Dubai and within 24 hours visited the police station, prosecutor’s office and hotel before flying back because they were afraid to sleep there.

Susannah told the court their conversations with police officers were “vague” and their request to watch CCTV was denied.

The couple were told CCTV showed Mr Brown beating himself up “by wrapping his arms”, but when they asked to see the footage, they were told it was “too rough”.

Susan told the coroner: “It was something he kept repeating, even though he told us police station footage showed him throwing around and hurting himself repeatedly.”

They also visited the chief prosecutor in the Attorney General’s Office, who is said to be “pretty manic” with his family and made “weird statements”. They were again banned from viewing the footage.

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Mrs Brown added: “He told me (after his death) that the prosecution against him was dismissed as if we should be thankful for that, as they could have continued to prosecute him after his death, as if we should be glad they were discarded. .

“He just wanted us to leave.”

She added: “There are many unanswered questions about the circumstances that led to his death.

“I believe he was beaten, starved and left to die in the horrific conditions of solitary confinement, and the British authorities did nothing to protect his life.

“If the prisoner hadn’t called, little would have been known about what happened to Lee.”

“Dubai has been promoted as a very safe tourist destination and it’s very worrying for us as a family, it’s a friendly country, unlike Afghanistan, we trade with them, there are treaties, it’s a safe place to go country for vacation.

“I don’t know if people realize that if something goes wrong, they get very little support.”

GP records read to jurors show he battled depression between 2001 and 2004 after his father died of a stroke.

He had no health conditions and was not on medication when he went to Dubai, but his sister-in-law told the coroner that the mental health incident was the only credible explanation for his alleged hotel behaviour.

A jury inquest, chaired by East London Coroner Nadia Persaud, is continuing and is expected to run until Friday.

Express.co.uk has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.