Who are we?

I am the mother of a 39-year-old man, Lee Bradley Brown, who tragically died in a Dubai police station whilst on holiday in the city.

I have been seeking justice for over 11 years since Lee’s death, but still do not know the full story of how, or why, he died.

12 April 2011

Lee was on holiday in Dubai in April 2011, staying at the Burj Al Arab hotel on a stopover to Indonesia. A hotel worker, who was not wearing uniform, appears to have entered Lee’s room without permission and refused to leave. This encounter led to Lee’s arrest by local police, who alleged that he had assaulted the worker. Lee was then detained in the Bur Dubai police station for around 6 days, where witnesses say he was badly beaten while in custody. On 12^th April 2011, Lee passed away.

My case

I am still trying to understand what happened in the days and hours leading up to Lee’s death. According to Dubai’s public prosecutor at the time, Lee died from choking on his own vomit and had traces of cannabis in his blood and urine. A post-mortem carried out in the UK, however, concluded that the finding of cannabis was irrelevant and had not caused or contributed to Lee’s death. The post-mortem report also found no evidence of vomit in Lee’s airways. No further details have been provided by the Dubai authorities to explain why an otherwise healthy 39-year-old man would suddenly vomit and die due to cannabis consumption.

In addition, neither the Burj Al Arab hotel nor the Bur Dubai police station have provided any CCTV evidence to support their accounts of what happened to Lee. It is very troubling that the explanation given by the Dubai authorities of how my son died does not match up with the evidence we have found.

Why I need your help

My family and I are still seeking justice. We want to know the truth about the circumstances and cause of Lee’s death. In 2015, the High Court quashed the original inquest into his death due to the lack of available evidence.

There is now a fresh inquest, due to start this year, and I hope that I will finally find out what happened to Lee. As Lee’s mother, I have the strongest motivation to ensure that the most important and relevant questions are asked at the hearing. My deep involvement and knowledge of the facts of Lee’s case also means that I will be able to provide a great deal of help to the Coroner at the upcoming inquest.

Having said this, my son’s death is still a very distressing issue for me and so I will require legal assistance to be able to participate fully at the Inquest. As Lee died outside of England and Wales, I am not entitled to any public funding for legal representation.

Initially, we seek to raise £5,000.

Please help my family and I to achieve the justice that Lee deserves. 

Thank you.