Campaigners are urging UK police to launch their own investigation into the case of a British woman facing the death penalty in Dubai, amid claims that witnesses present at the scene of the killing she is accused of may be holding crucial evidence on their mobile phones.
Brooke George, 23, from Gravesend, Kent, remains in custody following the death of William Treeby, 26, during an incident at an apartment in Dubai last week. The former John Lewis worker maintains she acted in self-defence after allegedly being attacked.
Campaign group Detained in Dubai has submitted what it describes as relevant intelligence to both UK and UAE authorities. The Sun understands five people were present at Treeby’s apartment on the night of the incident — Brooke, Treeby, two of his friends and a maid. At least one of the friends is understood to have contacted people in Britain shortly after Treeby’s death, with campaigners believing those calls, alongside data stored on the men’s mobile phones, could help establish a timeline of events, identify further witnesses and preserve evidence before it is lost.
One of the men present at the apartment is also understood to be wanted by Kent Police in connection with an entirely separate matter. Treeby himself had been due to stand trial at Maidstone Crown Court charged with conspiracy to supply cocaine, following a Kent Police County Lines and Gangs Team investigation in which he was one of seven defendants. One of the men who shared his Dubai flat was charged alongside him in that case. Court records also show Treeby had a previous conviction for unlawful wounding and common assault, for which he received a 14-month suspended prison sentence.
Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, confirmed the organisation had submitted intelligence to “the appropriate UK authorities, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, the UAE authorities and His Excellency Mansoor Abdullah Khalfan Juma Abulhoul, the UAE Ambassador to the United Kingdom.” She said: “Given the gravity of the proceedings and the potential consequences Brooke George faces, we believe it is imperative that every appropriate avenue is explored to ensure that all relevant information is properly considered. We are also engaging with Brooke’s local Member of Parliament in Kent to seek support in ensuring that every available investigative and forensic avenue is pursued.”
Stirling stressed the stakes involved in the case. “Where a young British citizen is facing the possibility of the death penalty overseas, there must be a diligent, impartial and comprehensive investigation, with every reasonable effort made to identify, preserve and examine relevant evidence. Justice cannot depend upon incomplete evidence or overlooked lines of enquiry. Every potentially relevant fact should be subjected to proper forensic examination so that the court is able to reach its decision on the basis of the fullest and most reliable evidence available. Nothing less is acceptable where a person’s life may ultimately be at stake.”
Campaigners are calling for anyone in Britain who received calls from the apartment in the hours after Treeby’s death to be interviewed, and for any available mobile phone evidence to be secured before it risks being deleted or lost. Kent Police has been asked to comment.
