A 23-year-old influencer, known for her work on TikTok, is being accused of murder in Dubai and could be sentenced to death by shooting, according to information from a human rights group. Brooke George, from Gravesend, Kent, in the United Kingdom, was formally charged with the stabbing death of a man with whom she was in a relationship, which began after an online meeting.
The organization Detained in Dubai, which works to defend people detained in the United Arab Emirates, stated that Brooke claims to have acted in self-defense. She allegedly grabbed a knife during a violent attack carried out by her partner. The group has called for his release on bail and for the case to be treated as an incident of domestic violence.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, a British government body, confirmed that it is providing support to a British citizen detained in the United Arab Emirates and her family.
Brooke George, who previously worked at John Lewis, was arrested in the early hours of June 22 and charged with premeditated murder.
If found guilty, the influencer risks being executed under UAE law.
During her detention at Bur Dubai police station, Brooke was allegedly forced to strip completely naked in the presence of male officers, without a female officer present. This experience was described as “deeply humiliating and distressing” by the group Detained in Dubai.
Significant changes in the relationship
On his first trip to Dubai, George had shared that he was having “the best time of his life.”
However, according to Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, the dynamics of her relationship with her partner changed drastically into an abusive pattern on the young woman’s second visit to the Gulf city.
Stirling reported that Brooke George claimed her partner had become “increasingly controlling and abusive”. She allegedly tried to leave Dubai after he allegedly punched her, withheld her passport and attacked her again in the apartment where they were staying.
The influencer claimed she “feared for her life and, upon reaching for a kitchen knife within her reach, acted in self-defense,” Stirling added.
In a statement, Brooke’s mother, Thereza George, said: “After Brooke returned to Dubai for the second time, the dynamic between them had clearly changed.”
“The day before the incident, she didn’t seem the same. She was quieter and not her usual happy, cheerful self, but she didn’t tell me why. That night, they went to a bar in Dubai. When I spoke to Brooke right after the incident, she was absolutely terrified. I’ve never seen my daughter so scared in my life. She was crying uncontrollably. I could see that one of her eyes was very swollen and starting to close.”
Thereza added that she was “deeply concerned” about her daughter’s well-being.
“The daughter I spoke to that night was completely terrified,” added the mother.
“I firmly believe she was desperately trying to get home and get away from everything that had happened to her.”
Concerns about Brooke George’s case
Radha Stirling expressed that “those closest to Brooke became increasingly concerned that she may have been lured to Dubai under false pretenses for the purpose of exploitation”.
The concerns, according to Stirling, were intensified by the inexplicable change in her partner’s behavior, the purchase of a one-way ticket, the professional bikini photo shoot organized during her first visit, the alleged withholding of her passport, Brooke’s comments to friends that “things weren’t right” and her growing fear of needing to escape.
Concerns about legal and procedural rights
The group Detained in Dubai reported that Brooke George was denied access to her country’s embassy and was forced to give statements without the presence of a lawyer.
The case “raises serious concerns about violence against women, the right to self-defence, due process and the treatment of British citizens detained abroad”, Stirling said.
The director of Detained in Dubai has appealed for Brooke to be released on bail while the investigation continues. She highlighted that “the United Arab Emirates has a documented history of criminalizing and revictimizing women who report violence”, a critical aspect in understanding the complexity of the case and its legal implications for the influencer.
Detained in Dubai requested that George receive “protection, appropriate medical care, legal representation and immediate British consular assistance while the investigation progresses.”
In a statement, the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office reiterated: “We are in contact with a British woman detained in the United Arab Emirates, we are supporting her family and we are in contact with local authorities.”