(National Times)- A 23-YEAR-OLD British TikTok influencer is facing potential execution by firing squad in Dubai after being charged with the premeditated murder of her boyfriend, a human rights group told BBC.
Brooke George, of Kent, England, claims she stabbed the man in self-defence during a violent domestic dispute.
The advocacy organisation Detained in Dubai stated that George was arrested on June 22. The group alleges her partner had become abusive, punched her, withheld her passport and attacked her in their apartment.
She feared for her life and, reaching for a kitchen knife within her grasp, acted in self-defence,” Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling said, according to the BBC.
George, a former John Lewis employee, was taken into custody early June 22 and charged with premeditated murder. If found guilty under United Arab Emirates law, she could face the death penalty.
George’s mother, Thereza George, told the BBC her daughter was “absolutely terrified” and had a visibly swollen eye when they spoke immediately after the incident. She added she firmly believes her daughter was desperately trying to escape whatever had happened to her.
Stirling raised concerns that George might have been lured to the United Arab Emirates for exploitation, noting the boyfriend’s unexplained behaviour changes, a one-way ticket and the withholding of her travel documents. The advocacy group also reported that George was denied embassy access, forced to make statements without legal counsel present and subjected to a humiliating strip search by male officers.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office told the BBC it is supporting a detained British woman and her family while remaining in contact with local authorities.
