Albert Douglas, a 58-year-old British businessman, was beaten and tortured after being captured while trying to flee the UAE, according to his account. Douglas attempted to cross the desert border into Oman in February 2021 to avoid a £2.5m fine and three-year prison sentence over debts incurred by his son Wolfgang's company. He was surrounded by UAE soldiers, hooded, and taken to a military base where he says he was stripped, slapped, deprived of sleep, and interrogated.
After being transferred to Al Ain central prison in Abu Dhabi, three guards entered his cell and kicked his head 'like a football', leaving him unconscious with a badly broken shoulder. Douglas, who still wakes up screaming about the ordeal, says he thought he was going to die. His son Wolfgang, in London, spent days searching for him, fearing he had been killed and dumped in a ditch.
Douglas had been watching his supreme court appeal via video link when he decided to flee. He abandoned his home on Dubai's Palm Jumeirah and went into hiding before attempting to cross the border. The escape plan involved switching cars and people smugglers, but it ended with gunshots and laser sights on his body. His son heard the gunshots over the phone before the line went dead.
The case highlights the risks faced by expats in the UAE, where criticism or financial disputes can lead to imprisonment. Douglas's family says the UK government showed little interest in helping him. He eventually made contact with his son after about ten days in solitary confinement, saying, 'I am not OK.'
