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Mom of influencer facing death by firing squad in Dubai reveals heartbreaking six-word phrase she repeated 'over and over again'
Alexandra B.
The mother of a young British content creator, who faces the death penalty after being charged with the murder of a man she claims she stabbed in self-defence, has spoken out about the pleas her daughter made as she was arrested.
Brooke George, 23, from Kent, travelled to Dubai, meeting a British man on Facebook; however, things turned sour shortly after the pair met.
The influencer claims she acted in self-defence
George claimed that she was attacked by the man during an altercation at an apartment after the pair returned from a night out, so she reached "for a kitchen knife within her grasp" and "acted in self-defence".
The influencer, with almost 100,000 followers on TikTok, is believed to have organized a flight home but was arrested at Dubai International Airport as she attempted to leave the country in the early hours of Monday, June 22.
The ex-department store assistant is now being held in the notoriously tough Bur Dubai prison.
George's mother received a heart-breaking phone call
According to her mother, Thereza, George claims that she was denied a lawyer and "forced to strip naked in front of male officers, without any female officers present". She described the experience as "deeply humiliating and distressing, breaking down in tears when recounting it to her family".
Detained in Dubai, a pressure organisation representing George, released a statement on behalf of Thereza, said: “As Brooke's mother, I am deeply concerned for her welfare. The daughter I spoke to that night was utterly terrified. I firmly believe she was desperately trying to get home and away from whatever had happened to her.”
During the phone call that no mother ever wants to receive, George reportedly sobbed the six words: “I just want to come home” over and over again.
CEO of Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling, said: "We will be working to ensure that [George's] rights are protected, that she receives a fair trial, and that the circumstances leading to this tragedy are fully and impartially examined.”
She also noted that George could have been the victim of a common crime happening in Dubai, saying: "Over recent years, there have been increasing reports of women, including social media influencers, models and young travellers, being lured to Dubai with promises of luxury lifestyles, paid work, holidays or romantic relationships, only to later allege that they were subjected to forced attendance at porta-potty parties, sexual exploitation, coercion, violence or other degrading treatment.
"International organisations and law enforcement agencies have documented cases in which women were recruited under false pretences for the purpose of exploitation, including trafficking."