British ambassador tours Dubai prison

DUBAI // In an effort to foster closer ties between the emirate's prison administrators and British officials, Dubai Police have met with Ambassador Dominic Jermey.

Major General Mohammad Hamid Al Suwaidi, director general of the Department of Penal and Correctional Institutions, gave the British ambassador a tour of Dubai Central Prison on Thursday.

MORE UAE NEWS: Our pick of today's top local news stories

UAE 'well-protected' from killer E coli outbreak Food safety officials say they are confident with testing procedures, while supermarkets say they do not import from affected regions. Read article

Australian woman wins bid to sue her government over UAE jailing Woman who was jailed for adultery over alleged Fujairah hotel rape has been granted leave to sue her own government for failing to provide advice on UAE laws. Read article

Empty filling stations and the great fuel mystery Petrol retailers say the filling-station closures are necessary for 'technical upgrades' but there is little sign of maintenance at petrol stations in Sharjah, and fuel shortages persist. Read article

Sheikh steps in to save RAK sailing club Country's oldest sailing club will be demolished to make way for a new property development, but plans are afoot to rebuild the club 500 metres down the road. Read article

MORE UAE NEWS

The tour included visits to the central monitoring room, clinics, sports facilities and workshops.

"I had an extremely useful and informative visit to Dubai Prison and discussion about conditions there," said Mr Jermey. "It is important that all prisons fulfil their duty of care to those who have been detained. The Embassy looks forward to continued cooperation with the Dubai authorities on these matters."

The visit comes almost three months after a British tourist died in Dubai Police custody on April 12. Lee Bradley Brown, 39, was detained at Bur Dubai police station on April 6 after being accused of assaulting a maid at the Burj Al Arab hotel.

Authorities here said Lee Bradley Brown died when he choked on his own vomit. His family members in the UK have requested an independent inquest.

Robert Tinline, the director of consular services at the British Foreign Office, also visited Al Aweer Central Prison on May 25 to hear the concerns of several of the prison's 35 British inmates.

The foreign office has launched a campaign to educate British travellers about acceptable conduct after the British Behaviour Abroad report, found the UAE has the second highest arrest rate of Britons worldwide.

As many as 265 Britons were arrested or detained in the UAE in the year to April 1, 2010.

"When we see stats going up we try to do things to prevent those sorts of cases," said Mr Tinline. "Ideally we'd have 100 per cent of Brits not getting into trouble, but we're modest enough to know that there are a lot of variables. We don't have set targets."

mcroucher@thenational.ae

- Additional reporting by Amna Al Haddad and Carol Huang