shygye Posted April 16, 2011 Report Share Posted April 16, 2011 Link I arrived in Dubai on 26 January 2008. I was there to visit a friend and, like too many visitors to the city, I was naïve. I travelled light and was looking forward to the beautiful weather and sandy beaches. What I found was very different. Passing through Dubai International Airport, as thousands of other Brits do every week, a guard pulled me out of the passport line. He looked through my bag where he found some melatonin tablets. Melatonin is a legal health supplement which is used to combat the effects of jet lag. It's available over the counter in the United Arab Emirates. The guard said the tablets were heroin. He then went through the rest of my bag and claimed to find 0.06 grams of hash, which would be lighter than a grain of sugar. I spent 24 hours in holding cells at the airport, 12 of which were in solitary confinement. The walls of that cell were covered in dried blood and I was denied food and water. Eventually I was thrown into the airport detention centre. This was an open prison which resembled a really bad hostel. There were six men to a cell. We were often woken in the night for "cell inspections". One British inmate had pneumonia but was made to stand in the freezing cold. We were just waiting to be processed. After 10 days in the airport detention centre I was told I was being sent home, but I was just being moved to an "outhouse" of the Dubai central prison, Al Wathba. Although I never felt threatened by violence my health was a concern. There were two hepatitis cases, and one inmate contracted Aids. Food poisoning was also a danger. When I was released – without charge – I had spent just over two months in Dubai. And I was one of the lucky ones. One of the sad things about Lee Brown's case is that it isn't an isolated incident. The West has spent a lot of money wooing Dubai and its seemingly Western luxury. But its legal system is dangerously flawed. Because there is no accountability, people can enter the system to be "processed" and simply disappear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCorinthian Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Photos of the body would clear a lot of this up. I imagine the body will be turned over to the Brits?? It is next to impossible to conceal a beating that is bad enough to kill a man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Photos of the body would clear a lot of this up. I imagine the body will be turned over to the Brits?? It is next to impossible to conceal a beating that is bad enough to kill a man. Good point. Where are the foresnics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 It seems the story is changing. Link The autopsy showed bruises on different parts of the deceased’s body: the left side of the forehead, the nose, upper right arm, foot, palm, right eyebrow and lower jaw, a court has heard. ... According to police, Brown hit his head against a wall and injured his nose. He also injured his forehead while police were trying to control him and later fell down while resisting arrest. Al Humaidan said the autopsy showed bruises on different parts of the deceased’s body: the left side of the forehead, the nose, upper right arm, foot, palm, right eyebrow and lower jaw. The forensic report concluded the injuries on the deceased’s body resulted from collisions with solid objects, including falls on a hard floor. The report says Brown sustained these injuries four or five days prior to his death. ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 It seems the story is changing. Link The autopsy showed bruises on different parts of the deceased’s body: the left side of the forehead, the nose, upper right arm, foot, palm, right eyebrow and lower jaw, a court has heard. ... According to police, Brown hit his head against a wall and injured his nose. He also injured his forehead while police were trying to control him and later fell down while resisting arrest. Al Humaidan said the autopsy showed bruises on different parts of the deceased’s body: the left side of the forehead, the nose, upper right arm, foot, palm, right eyebrow and lower jaw. The forensic report concluded the injuries on the deceased’s body resulted from collisions with solid objects, including falls on a hard floor. The report says Brown sustained these injuries four or five days prior to his death. ... We will probably find out Brown committed suicide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 That hotel must have many CCTV cams covering the hallways, elevators, and exits. So where is the video to backup the Dubai police version of the story? To quote TC, it just doesn't add up. Remember all that CCTV video of the Israeli agents? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 Exclusive: 'I shared a cell with Lee Brown' Inside story from the man who shared a cell with Lee Brown, the British tourist who died in police custody A European who briefly shared a prison cell with Lee Bradley Brown told XPRESS how the visiting Briton begged him for help just days before he died in police custody. The man described Brown's condition as "terrible" but clarified he did not see him being beaten, contradicting British media reports that Brown was tortured by the police. "I saw him bleeding. He had bruises on his face, shoulder and arms when he asked me for help," said the man who was released from Bur Dubai police station lock-up shortly after Brown's death. "He kept saying: ‘Please help me, please help me'." "I did not see him being beaten … he did not die in front of me." XPRESS confirmed the man was in Bur Dubai police station lock-up at the same time as Brown but, honouring his request, will not disclose his name, nationality or the reason for his detention. "Brown was half naked with both his hands and legs in cuffs. He wore nothing on top … and no shoes… his pants were hanging well below the waist." "I saw him being served a meal of rice with a piece of chicken and laban (a yoghurt drink). But the food was untouched for two days. I don't know why he didn't eat it... I asked the police to check on him." The man said the next time he saw Brown was when his body was being taken out in a bag. "I don't know what happened. [brown] did not say anything to me in this regard," he said, adding that he had no clue why the Briton came to Dubai or what had transpired at Burj Al Arab. The European, however, claimed Brown told another inmate that he came to Dubai on someone's invitation. "I believe he never told anyone who that ‘someone' was, he said." On Monday, the European met Brown's brother and sister-in-law who flew to Dubai to take possession of his body. "From the very outset, we have been pressing the Dubai authorities for a full investigation into the death of Lee Brown. We are in regular contact with his family and have conveyed their wishes on next steps to the Dubai authorities, and will continue to do so. His family have asked for their privacy to be respected at this very difficult time," said a spokesperson of the British Embassy in an e-mail statement to XPRESS. A self-employed maintenance worker from Ilford, Essex in East England, Brown, 39, was arrested from the iconic Burj Al Arab hotel after being accused of physically and verbally abusing a female staff member on April 6. He was taken to Bur Dubai police station where he died on April 12, sparking allegations that he was beaten to death. Public prosecutors who heard the testimonies of the police said Brown was injured when he banged his head against a wall and tried to throw himself from the hotel's balcony while resisting arrest. Police officers also testified that Brown continued to beat on the metal mesh barrier in the patrol car while he was being driven to the police station. Essam Al Humaidan, Dubai Attorney-General, said the forensic report showed bruises on Brown's forehead, nose and inner right arm. There were minor injuries below his chin, his sole and his right eyebrow. More abrasions were found on the back of his hands and fingers. Al Humaidan said the abrasions, four to five days old, were consistent with the witnesses' testimonies and that they were sustained during the "violent resistance" or due to friction from the handcuffs. These injuries were minor and had nothing to do with Brown's cause of death. He said the report showed that Brown did not suffer from any illness either and that he choked to death on his own vomit. Earlier, Dubai Police Chief Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim refuted reports saying Brown was tortured. "I am sure that no one used force against the tourist who was in police custody," he told Gulf News. Public prosecutors also heard the testimony of the Nepalese hotel chambermaid in which she claimed she went to a room for housekeeping on April 6 when Brown abused her and tried to throw her off the balcony. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 I am surprised a 'suicidal man' would ask for help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shygye Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 ... so the guy hasn't eaten or drank in several days and yet vomits enough to choke on it? The police never inform the UK Embassy that a citizen has been arrested. The police never have a doctor examine a man with obvious injuries who is not eating or drinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bangkoktraveler Posted April 22, 2011 Report Share Posted April 22, 2011 They forgot to notify his embassey of his arrest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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