Briton dies in Dubai police custody amid torture allegations

DUBAI—Dubai’s public prosecutor said in a statement on Thursday that a British man had died in police custody from suffocation, as media in the Gulf emirate published allegations he had been tortured.

“Dubai Public Prosecution is investigating the death of British citizen Lee Brown who died in Bur Dubai police custody,” a statement carried by the official WAM news quoted public prosecutor Essam al-Humaidan as saying.

“The post-mortem report … had shown the death of the British tourist was caused by suffocation” from vomit in his respiratory tract, Humaidan said, adding that “blood and urine tests… revealed traces of hashish in the blood of the deceased.”

A spokesperson for the British embassy had earlier told AFP that a Briton had died in police custody, and that “the embassy is in close contact with Dubai police and has been assured a full investigation will take place” into the circumstances surrounding his death.

The man, identified by local newspaper 7Days as tourist Lee Bradley Brown, died in his cell on Monday nearly a week after being arrested, the English-language daily said.

According to the report, the British embassy “said it had been contacted by the 39-year-old’s family who claimed Brown was beaten by police officers during his detention.”

The embassy spokesperson said there was no immediate confirmation of any torture.

Humaidan said in the statement that Brown was jailed for “verbal and physical assault on female staff of the Burj Al-Arab Hotel,” an iconic sail-shaped hotel that bills itself as seven-star.

Brown attempted to push a female staff member off one of the sixth-floor internal balconies before being restrained by other hotel staff, Humaidan said.

Dubai, a popular destination for British tourists and expatriate workers, has occasionally come under fire from human rights groups over harsh detention conditions.