British Grandfather’s Ordeal in Dubai Jail: Forced to Drink From Toilet and Subjected to Brutal Abuse
LONDON / DUBAI — A British man has spoken out about a harrowing four‑year ordeal in a high‑security Dubai prison, where he says he was beaten, tortured and forced to drink water from a filthy toilet after being wrongly detained over business debts that were not his.
Albert Douglas, 63, arrived back in the UK on December 19, 2025, after the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found his imprisonment in the United Arab Emirates had “no legal basis” and called for his release and compensation.
Wrongful Arrest Over Business Debt
Douglas had lived and worked in Dubai for many years and built a successful flooring business before helping his son, Wolfgang Douglas, obtain a trade licence for his own company. The paperwork later changed and did not include Albert’s name, but authorities still held him responsible when the company accumulated debt. A UAE court sentenced him to three years in jail and imposed a £2.5 million fine, even though his son was living in the UK and forensic evidence later showed the bounced cheques were not written by Albert.
Torture, Abuse and Degrading Conditions
While in custody, Douglas says he endured severe mistreatment and shocking prison conditions. He told reporters that:
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Prison guards beat him so severely that he suffered a fractured shoulder and dislocated fingers.
- He was denied food, water and medical care for prolonged periods, leaving him dehydrated and weak.
- At one point, he had to drink water from an outside toilet to survive after being left in the sun without support for 72 hours.
- He witnessed fellow inmates commit suicide and others suffer sexual violence.
According to the UN report, during transfers between detention facilities Douglas was repeatedly denied basic necessities and left outside for hours without protection from the elements.
Impact on Health and Family
Douglas’s health deteriorated significantly during his detention. He lost a large amount of weight and was denied essential medication for a heart condition. In interviews, he described sleeping for up to 15 hours a day in the constant light of his prison cell just to cope with the environment.
Since his release, he has expressed deep guilt for leaving behind other detainees he befriended — including some British nationals serving long sentences with little hope of freedom.
International Attention and Calls for Reform
Human rights campaigners, including Radha Stirling, founder of the group Detained in Dubai, have highlighted the case as part of broader concerns over the treatment of foreign nationals detained in UAE prisons. The UN’s referral of the case to the Special Rapporteur on Torture underscores the severity of the allegations.
Douglas’s case has also sparked debate in the UK about government support for citizens detained abroad, with critics saying more should be done to warn British travellers and expatriates about the legal risks they may face in other jurisdictions.