A British tourist who died in police custody in Dubai choked on his own vomit, according to local officials. Lee Brown, 39, was arrested after being accused of physically and verbally abusing a female member of staff at the luxury Burj Al Arab hotel.
He died on Tuesday amid claims that officers punched and kicked him during his time in custody at Bur Dubai police station.
But Dubai attorney general Issam Al Humaidan said a post-mortem examination found Mr Brown's death was caused by suffocation after vomit leaked into his respiratory tract.
In a statement he offered his condolences to the Briton's family, and stressed the police in the emirate dealt with prisoners with respect and were "governed by the highest standards to preserve human rights".
British diplomats and human rights campaigners have demanded a thorough investigation into the tragedy.
The Brown family first heard about the incident when Mr Brown's sister in the UK answered a phone call from a fellow inmate.
She said the prisoner claimed he found her number as the next of kin contact in her brother's photocopied passport details left in his cell.
Inmates at the prison told his family of the horror of witnessing up to six police officers strip and handcuff the Essex maintenance worker, before holding him down in a chair and beating him with their fists, feet and batons.
They claimed Mr Brown's lifeless body was then dragged away to another cell where he died three days later from his injuries. Read More
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