“Everyone was beaten up,” Ryan Pepper wrote in smuggled notes from UAE detention. The 27 year old father of two from Ashford, Kent, has been locked up in Emirates overcrowded hell hole without any explanation since the 3rd of November 2025.
British father Ryan Pepper has reported that he has been beaten, threatened and psychologically abused inside a UAE detention facility while British officials struggled to obtain meaningful private access to him following repeated safeguarding concerns raised by his devastated family.
Pepper, who has now spent more than seven months detained in the UAE without meaningful contact with loved ones, told relatives that “everyone was beaten up” inside detention and warned his family not to travel to Dubai to see him. He has no idea what charges he is facing or why he was arrested.
In handwritten notes smuggled from custody, Ryan described the facility as “Hell”, claimed police had “kidnapped and robbed” detainees, and repeatedly suggested he could not safely explain what was happening in writing because communications were monitored.
His sister, Chloe, says the family initially believed Ryan would soon be deported home, but over time the messages became darker and more frightening.
“At first we were trying to stay positive,” Chloe said. “But then Ryan started telling us people had been beaten, isolated, threatened and denied communication. He sounded terrified. We genuinely began fearing he was going to die in there.”
The family say Ryan was held for months without phone access and that they were forced to piece together fragments of information through handwritten notes and messages relayed by others detained alongside him.
Another detainee later contacted the family directly, telling them Ryan had been held in confinement for around 20 days and physically abused.
The situation escalated dramatically after Ryan was taken to hospital. Ryan later described brutal beatings in custody that left him with damaged teeth and requiring hospital treatment.
While UAE authorities told British officials the hospitalisation was related to complications from a previous surgery, the family later received information suggesting the treatment was related to injuries sustained during assaults in custody.
British Embassy officials initially arranged an in-person welfare visit to Ryan, but the appointment was later abruptly cancelled following what officials described as “short-term restrictions”.
According to the family, subsequent embassy interactions were monitored and not private.
Ryan later told relatives that detainees had been threatened before meetings with British officials and that he did not feel safe speaking openly.
“This is the central problem,” said Radha Stirling. “The Foreign Office continues relying on reassurances obtained in environments where detainees may be terrified to speak honestly.”
“British officials cannot meaningfully assess torture allegations if meetings are monitored by the same authorities accused of abuse.”
Stirling warned that the UK government has failed to learn lessons from previous cases involving British detainees in Dubai, including Albert Douglas.
“The UAE authorities lied repeatedly in Albert Douglas’s case,” Stirling said. “They told British officials he was fine while he was being beaten, deprived of medication and psychologically abused. The United Nations later ruled his detention arbitrary.”
The United Nations ruled Albert Douglas was arbitrarily detained in Dubai after enduring beatings, humiliation, psychological abuse and denial of medication. His case has since been escalated to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.
Stirling says Ryan’s case follows an increasingly alarming pattern involving British detainees in the UAE.
“We are now assisting another British citizen facing similar allegations and preparing urgent submissions regarding torture concerns,” she said. “British nationals are increasingly vulnerable in the UAE and the British government is not responding with the urgency these cases require.”
Detained in Dubai prepared urgent submissions to UN torture mechanisms regarding Ryan’s treatment. His MP, Joseph Sojan has been contacted by Detained in Dubai and Ryan’s family.
Stirling also referenced the death of Lee Bradley Brown, who died in Dubai custody after being beaten and denied proper care.
“How many warnings does the British government need?” Stirling asked. “British citizens need to understand that if they are arrested in Dubai, even over social media activity, financial disputes, or minor allegations, they may face prolonged unlawful and arbitrary detention, violent abuse, intimidation and potentially torture.”
“The Foreign Office travel warnings are nowhere near strong enough.”
Ryan’s family say they no longer trust official reassurances regarding his welfare.
“We kept being told Ryan was okay,” Chloe said. “Then Ryan told us he had disclosed horrific abuse directly to officials. He said he felt unheard. He said meetings weren’t private. That completely shattered our confidence.”
His children continue asking when their father is coming home. His mother has become physically unwell from stress.
“We are begging for proof our loved one is safe,” Chloe said. “No family should have to live like this.”
“British citizens are walking blindly into a system that the UK government knows carries serious risks of arbitrary detention and abuse,” Stirling said. “The family say they are now living in constant fear that Ryan will become another British casualty of the UAE detention system.”
As of the 26 of May 2026, The FCDO has been unable to ascertain the reasons for Ryan’s detention but have been told directly by Ryan of the abuse he has suffered. Ryan asked them to raise his concerns with authorities “but this is not enough”, said Ms Stirling. “This is a repeat pattern. Again and again, British prisoners are being arbitrarily detained, suffering police brutality and torture in custody. This must come to an abrupt and urgent end and the FCDO must issue official warnings via their travel advisory”.