'We were tortured in Dubai desert:' British tourists arrested for possession of cannabis could face death penalty after being 'beaten up and given electric shocks by police'

Three Britons held in Dubai for seven months without trial will tell a legal hearing today how they were repeatedly tortured by police who beat them, pointed guns at them and administered electric shocks.
Childhood friends Grant Cameron and Karl Williams, both 25, and another man, Suneet Jeerh, were arrested in July last year by police who claimed to have found a quantity of a synthetic cannabis known as ‘spice’ in their car.
The men say that in the days that followed they were forced to sign documents in Arabic – a language none of them understand – after being threatened by police.

 

 

Suneet Jeerh (right) and Grant Cameron were subjected to torture including beatings and electric shocks by Dubai's police, they claim
Karl Williams’ brother Liam, 30, has flown to Dubai to attend the first hearing. Another brother Alex, 29, who runs a performing arts and education company, told yesterday how his younger brother had been repeatedly beaten.

 

He said: ‘Karl had his hand broken within days of being arrested and has had a metal plate inserted.
‘He has been hospitalised a number of times because he has a nut allergy and they have repeatedly given him food containing nuts. His treatment is a disgrace.’
Mr Williams and Mr Cameron, both plumbers from Wanstead, East London, had only been on holiday for a few days when they were held.  

Karl Williams denies the drug charges police have accused him of

Mr Jeerh, 25, from Ilford, Essex, who worked for his father’s clothing firm, was also on holiday when he befriended  the other two.
All three have strenuously denied charges of ‘consumption and possession of drugs with intent to distribute’ and are due to appear at their first trial hearing today. Their case has been taken up by the human rights charity Reprieve.
In a draft witness statement provided to Reprieve lawyer Mark Calcutt, Karl Williams told of being tortured after being driven into the desert by officers and also after being taken back to the 440-room Media Rotana hotel where he had been staying with Mr Cameron.
He said: ‘I remember that the police put a towel on my face so I could not see. They kept telling me I was going to die. I was so scared.
‘Once I had been knocked to the ground, the police picked me up and put me on the bed. They pulled down my trousers, spread my legs and started to electrocute my testicles. It was unbelievably painful. I was so scared.
‘Then they took off the towel and I could see there was a gun pointed at my head. I started to believe I was going to die in that room.’
Further torture took place in the desert, it was claimed, where the men were initially taken.
Mr Williams and Mr Cameron have been held at Port Rashid police station, while Mr Jeerh has been moved to Al Awir Central Jail. Last night Mr Calcutt said: ‘The Dubai authorities need to immediately drop the charges against the men and conduct an independent investigation into how these terrible events occurred.
‘If they do not, I am sure this story will linger in people’s memories, particularly when it comes to booking their holidays.’
Dubai has a thriving reputation as a holiday destination but it has also been the subject of complaints about human rights violations.