A British TikTok influencer from Kent is being held in a notorious Dubai police station after stabbing her boyfriend. Brooke George, 23, who has over 100,000 followers on TikTok, is charged with the murder of fellow Brit William ‘Bill’ Treeby, 26. While she does not deny the stabbing, her legal team claims she acted in self-defence.
Detention conditions and family concerns
George is awaiting trial at Bur Dubai police station in Dubai, UAE, after her death penalty trial was delayed. Her family fears her mental health is deteriorating rapidly due to the conditions at the detention centre. Her mother, Tess, reports that bright lights remain on in every room, cries and screams from babies echo around the centre, and calls home are routinely interrupted. Medication to help her sleep has reportedly not yet been provided.
Court hearing adjourned
On October 7, George attended a court hearing in Arabic via video link, where prosecution witnesses had been summoned but failed to appear. The trial was adjourned until October 28, and the court ordered her to remain in detention while evidence is gathered from remaining witnesses. George was arrested at Dubai International Airport the day after the fatal stabbing on June 21 but claims Treeby assaulted her in his apartment.
Appeal for medical care
Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, is assisting the family and pleading for urgent medical care for George. Stirling said: “Brooke is suffering terribly. Her family describes a young woman who is increasingly upset, unable to sleep and struggling to maintain even the briefest contact with home.” She added that the facilities were never designed for long-term habitation and that British citizens held there for only hours during the Iran strikes were terrified at the thought of spending days there.
In 2011, British tourist Lee Bradley Brown died at the detention centre while in police custody after being arrested for a verbal altercation with a housekeeper at the Burj Al Arab hotel. Initially claimed to have died from choking on his own vomit, a 2022 jury inquest revealed neglect and severe beatings from guards and inmates caused his death.
