British tourist dies after being 'starved and beaten' in Dubai police station

A British tourist died after being "starved and beaten" by prison guards at a police station in Dubai, an inquest has ruled.

The 39-year-old man, identified as Lee Brown, died on April 12, 2011, in police custody at Bur Dubai police station five days after being detained.

The Walthamstow Coroner's Court heard that Brown was not given adequate food and water and was eventually placed in solitary confinement where he did not have access to medical care.

Brown was a builder, painter, and decorator from Dagenham, east London, and had gone to see Dubai before flying off to Indonesia to meet his girlfriend. The jury was told he was accused of assaulting a maid at the Burj Al Arab hotel the day after his arrival in Dubai.

However, Brown had then said that the woman had come to his room without permission and that he was soon dragged by 20 men to the police station. His fellow inmates claimed that he was having a psychotic episode.

"He was very loud and guards and prisoners were becoming noticeably annoyed by his behaviour, " one of the detainees said in his written statement.

"His behaviour caused people to become perplexed and annoyed as he was using foul language which some of the Muslim prisoners took great offence to," added the statement.

"I was told he was beaten up at the prosecutor's office and then beaten in the van. I was told by many prisoners' guards had boasted about having beaten him," read another excerpt from his statement.

The jurors concluded that the medical cause of Brown's death remains unanswered.

"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 station," said the jury forewoman.

Meanwhile, the UAE has reacted sharply to the findings and said that there were serious irregularities in the inquest process, per The Mirror.

"The Jury's verdict did not determine a cause of Mr. Lee's death, nor any unlawful killing. To the extent the Jury speculated about factors for his death, the UAE completely rejects this speculation," said a spokesperson at the UAE Embassy in the UK.