Businessman Lee Brown’s death was ruled to have been caused due to “neglect” whilst in custody.
A British holidaymaker died after being beaten and starved by cruel guards in a Dubai police station, an inquest heard. The hearing was told that Lee Brown passed away after five days in custody at the Bur Dubai police station.
The businessman was not given enough food or water, was placed in solitary confinement and did not receive the medical treatment he needed.
The 39-year-old died on April 12, 2011, and his family claimed the Foreign Office had prioritised diplomatic relations over his welfare. The builder, painter and decorator had planned to spent a few days in the city.
He was due to travel to Indonesia to visit his girlfriend after visiting the Gulf state, according to the Mirror. But after he arrived he was accused of assaulting a maid at the Burj Al Arab hotel.
Mr Brown, of Dagenham, East London, claimed she entered his room without permission – and that he was then swamped by around 20 people and dragged to the police station.
The hearing heard he may have been experiencing a mental health episode when he was taken to the prison, with family saying that is the most sensible explanation for his behaviour at the hotel.
The jury forewoman recorded a narrative conclusion of neglect, and his medical cause of death as unanswered, and said: “The factors that probably contributed to his death are as follows.
“Bruises from other detainees, guards and police officers, a lack of adequate food or water, a lack of habitable living conditions and a lack of access to necessary medical care while at the police
“Factors that possibly contributed to his death are a lack of access to services and adequate clothing. The neglect was by the authorities at Bur Dubai police station.”
The Area Coroner for East London, Nadia Persaud, will now send a report on prevention of future deaths to the Foreign Office, raising “concerns” about the issues which arose during the inquest.
These include lack of emergency access to British nationals who are detained, warnings about the risk of detention and conditions of detention in Dubai, and a lack of clarity over the process around accessing detainees who are experiencing mental health episodes while detained.
The Coroner said: “I would like to thank the family for their assistance over the last eight years certainly to me. It has been an absolute privilege to work with Doris Brown and Lee’s siblings who remained wholly dignified in the face of a lack of a response to the number of requests we made for some of the evidence which was never recovered. I hope this inquest has answered some of the questions the family had and gone some way to finding justice for Lee.”
Source: Daily Record
