British traveller was ‘beaten and starved to death’ in a notorious Dubai jail
Lee Brown died six days after being arrested in the United Arab Emirates.
A holidaymaker from the UK died after being beaten and starved in a Dubai police station, an inquest was told.
Lee Brown’s family have accused the British Foreign Office of failing to intervene to get him out of the notorious jail.
The 39-year-old flew to the United Arab Emirates in April 2011 en route to Indonesia to visit his girlfriend.
He was taken to the Bur Dubai police station after being accused of getting into an altercation with a maid at the Burj Al Arab Hotel and died there six days later.
Officials claimed he had beaten himself up by ‘throwing his arms around’ but his alleged mistreatment at the hands of guards was relayed to his family by fellow inmates, Walthamstow Coroner’s Courts was told.
The painter and decorator from Dagenham, East London, was a keen traveller who was considering converting to Islam in order to marry his girlfriend.
Police were called after the alleged assault and he was dragged to the police station in his underwear, the inquest was told.
On 8 April he was taken to the public prosecutor’s office where he is said to have thrown himself on the floor, jumped on chairs and sustained superficial injuries to his face, arm and chest.
He then spent four days detained in the prison where his condition deteriorated.
Mr Brown had suffered from depression some years earlier and his family believe he may have suffered a mental health crisis while in Dubai, triggering any claimed erratic behaviour.
On April 11, another Brit detained in the United Arab Emirates called his brother in the UK to say he was cuffed in solitary confinement, was bleeding from a head wound and warned: ‘You have got to get help. If it carries on, Lee could die.’
He told them to speak to the British embassy and said the police were responsible for the beatings.
The next morning, his family were told he was shackled, hadn’t eaten or drank in days and was drifting in and out of consciousness on the floor of a cell.
The inquest was told a British official was turned away from the prison when guards said Mr Brown was asleep.
Days after learning about his death, brother Steve and his wife Susanne spent 24 hours in Dubai to meet with prison bosses and others involved in his arrest and were told his injuries were self-inflicted.
Suzanne described the chief prosecutor ‘quite manic’ with the family and had a ‘bizarre presentation’, before again refusing access to footage.
Requests to the authorities in the United Arab Emirates for CCTV tapes to be supplied had been declined, the inquest was told.
Suzanne said: ‘He told me (after his death) the prosecution against him was being dismissed, as if we were supposed to be grateful for this as they could have continued to prosecute him after death, as if we should be happy they were being dropped.
‘He just wanted us to go away.’
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 circumstances of solitary confinement, and that the authorities in the UK did nothing to preserve his life.
‘If the inmates had not called then very little would be known about what happened to Lee.’
In a statement, Steve said: ‘I believe he was beaten to death by the guards whilst in custody at the police station.
‘Had the embassy forced the issue and gone to see him in person quickly, medical attention might have been sought and my brother might be alive today.
‘I feel concerned that protecting the safety of Brits is not as important to embassy staff as diplomatic relations with their hosts.’
The jury inquest, which is being presided over by Area Coroner for East London Nadia Persaud, continues and is expected to last until Friday.
Metro.co.uk has contacted the Foreign Office for comment.
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