A British woman facing jail in Dubai after witnessing a hotel brawl was forced to sign confession papers written only in Arabic or be jailed immediately, her lawyers claimed.
Asa Hutchinson, 21, from Chelmsford, Essex, could spend years behind bars over the fight between her friends and a drunk Swedish man in a hotel lobby during which he says they stole his glasses.
Her representatives said she was put under ‘extreme pressure’ to sign lengthy legal papers written only in Arabic when she was arrested last April.
British ex-pat Asa Hutchinson, 21, pictured on December 6 at Dubai Marina, could face Christmas in jail over a row involving a Swedish tech executive who accused them of taking selfies of him
In a statement released today, the accounts manager, said: ‘I was told to sign the papers, or I would be going straight to prison.
‘By this stage I was terrified. I had no choice but to sign those papers. I was so scared of prison.’
Her father Iain Hutchinson today pleaded for the complainant Bjorn Roden to ‘show some compassion’ to his daughter and drop the charges against her.
Asa was charged with assault and theft despite claiming not to have been in the hotel lobby when the row broke out on April 29, 2016.
Her friends fled the scene and returned home to the UK, leaving behind Asa, who has lived in Dubai for three years.
An NGO representing her, Detained in Dubai, said Asa had seen none of the selfies, but did see the boys being hit by the Swedish tech executive said to be in his 50s.
Her representatives said she was put under ‘extreme pressure’ to sign lengthy legal papers written only in Arabic when she was arrested last April
The man was asleep when Ms Hutchinson’s friends apparently took selfies next to him. The man was angry when he woke up and was involved in a fight. Ms Hutchinson (pictured on December 6) said she was a bystander during the disagreement and was not directly involved
Ms Hutchinson, 21, from Brentwood, Essex, right, with her ex-boyfriend, Ben Hall, left, in Dubai, in November 2015. All of the other members of the group have managed to leave Dubai
The Swedish man then decided to transfer the charges to Ms Hutchinson, left, after discovering that she was still living in the UAE
‘The boys managed to flee Dubai before being arrested, and so the Swede laid all the charges on Asa,’ a spokesman said.
‘Asa has been waiting to find out her fate ever since. The charges warrant jail under Dubai laws, despite the fact that Asa herself had done nothing illegal.
‘Upon her arrest Asa was put under extreme pressure to sign lengthy legal papers written only in Arabic.’
Ms Hutchinson was arrested after a fight broke out between the businessman and some of her friends in the lobby of the Al Fattan building, Dubai, last May
Asa’s father, Iain Hutchinson, said: ‘Asa is a young girl in a foreign country, being subjected to a legal system not at all like what we are accustomed to.
‘We understand how perturbed the complainant in this case, Mr Bjorn Roden, must have felt when the incident occurred, but Asa is innocent, and we ask him to show some compassion for our daughter and drop his complaint before she winds up in jail for something she didn’t do’.
Detained in Dubai CEO Radha Stirling CEO said: ‘Asa’s experience echoes that of countless others.
‘A conspicuously high number of cases in the UAE are concluded as a result of suspects’ ‘confessions’ often in lieu of any other type of evidence collected through investigation.
‘Suspects are put under extreme pressure to sign ‘confessions’ in Arabic.
‘We have even seen cases where suspects were forced to sign blank documents upon which the police later wrote their ‘confessions’.
‘These invalid confessions carry decisive weight in trials, despite the coercion used to obtain them.
‘Like Asa, any expat is terrified in such a situation. Westerners need to bear in mind that the legal system in the UAE has a long way to go before it is as modern as the skyline’.
Ms Hutchinson, pictured in Dubai on December 6, is the latest of a number of young Briton to face legal problems in Dubai and incur expensive legal bills as a result
Ms Hutchinson’s legal team has asked the Swedish man to drop his prosecution – but she still faces a charge of assault and theft despite insisting she wasn’t present during the alleged fight
Following the incident Dubai police questioned Asa’s boyfriend Ben and others in the group after getting their names from the hotel reservations list.
The men managed to get their passports back by paying cash deposits, before flying home to the UK.
The Swedish man then made the decision to transfer the charges to Asa after learning she lives in the UAE.
Dubai law dictates that whoever makes the first complaint is the party most likely to be believed, so it may be irrelevant that the Swedish man threw the punches.
Asa’s mother Lucie Harrison is pictured outside the family home in Brentwood, Essex
Taking pictures of someone without their consent and being rude to another person are both classed as Illegal in Dubai and are punishable by jail time..
Asa, who works as a key account manager for global transportation company Time & Motion, has been released on bail ahead of a trial next year.
If she is found guilty, the penalty will depends on the judge as UAE penalties are ‘discretionary’ rather than based on precedent.
However, her lawyers have advised that for assault and theft charges, the sentence is likely to be several months – or even years – behind bars.
Speaking on November 30, Asa said: ‘I appeal to the man prosecuting to drop the charges.
‘If you feel someone has wronged you, it really wasn’t me.
‘My friends leaving the country only affects me because this man has now decided to charge me instead.
‘I really don’t feel like I have done anything to deserve being charged.
‘I love my life in Dubai and want to stay here. I have tried to reason with the man because I’m so worried, but it has fallen on deaf ears.
Ms Hutchinson’s legal team claimed opening the case against her client was ‘morally wrong’. Pictured: Asa (right) with her former boyfriend Ben Hall and his mother, Samantha
Ms Hutchinson earlier lost her job after the incident and authorities seized her passport: Pictured: Inside Dusty’s Bar where Asa and her friends spent the evening before alleged fight
‘He only wants to prosecute, and the guys who actually did it are not here, which has left me in the firing line.’
She added: ‘Going to prison would be awful. I just couldn’t bear it, I really hope it doesn’t get that far.
‘I want to thank everyone around the world for the messages of support I have been getting.
‘I also want to tell my mum and dad, Lucie and Iain that I love them and miss them very much.’
A spokesman for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said: ‘Our staff in Dubai assisted a British woman following an incident in 2016, and are ready to provide further help if requested.’
The incident is alleged to have taken place outside Dusty’s Bar and Restaurant, pictured
Ms Hutchinson, right, claims that she was nothing more than a bystander to the fight that erupted when the man woke up