British father held in Dubai prison says he was threatened with having his hands broken before having 'his teeth pulled out'

By ELIANA SILVER, SENIOR FOREIGN NEWS REPORTER Published: 15:41, 5 June 2026 | Updated: 15:49, 5 June 2026 A 27-year-old British father who has spent seven months locked up in a Dubai prison has said he was threatened with having his hands broken before having his teeth pulled out by Emirati prison guards. Ryan Pepper, from Ashford in Kent, has allegedly been assaulted, threatened and psychologically abused while imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Detained in Dubai. The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has been unable to ascertain the reasons for Pepper's detention, the group said. In a voice note recorded by his sister Chloe during a phone call from prison, Pepper revealed he and other Brits were threatened with extreme violence and forced to sign documents in Arabic, The Sun reported. In the recording, Pepper is heard saying: 'We signed paperwork, we don't know what we signed, it was all in Arabic. They threatened to break our hands if we didn't sign that. 'Everyone on the case signed it and we have no idea what we signed. We have no idea what the thing said – none of us speak Arabic and they wouldn't give us a translation. They just made us sign it and just put us in the detention centre.' It was previously reported that the 27-year-old has had four of his teeth pulled out with pliers and fear he may die in custody due to the mistreatment. Ryan Pepper, from Ashford in Kent, has allegedly been assaulted, threatened and psychologically abused while imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Detained in Dubai In handwritten notes smuggled from custody, the father-of-two described being physically and verbally attacked, stating that 'everyone was beaten up' inside detention Chloe, said Pepper is 'terrified' and hardly eats for fear of being drugged, and was tortured and sexually assaulted behind bars.  Her brother apparently told her he had spent weeks without seeing daylight, kept 'under constant bright yellow humming lights that made nearly impossible'. Speaking previously to Metro, Chloe said Pepper recounted how people  were 'beaten, isolated, threatened and denied communication.' 'He sounded terrified. We genuinely began fearing he was going to die in there,' she said. His family described how he was held in isolation for around 20 days, after first being detained alongside about 15 people on November 3. In handwritten notes smuggled from prison, the father-of-two described being physically and verbally attacked, stating that 'everyone was beaten up' inside detention. He has warned relatives not to travel to the desert city and called the jail 'hell'. Detained in Dubai has raised urgent concerns regarding arbitrary detention, torture allegations and the wider treatment of British nationals in UAE custody. It has also brought up Pepper's case directly with the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture, as well as the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. The group suspects that embassy interactions are being monitored, and are not conducted privately. Pepper claimed that UAE police 'kidnapped and robbed' detainees, but repeatedly suggested he could not safely explain what was happening in writing because communications were monitored.  According to Detained in Dubai, Pepper has been taken to hospital during his time in the UAE jail, but the authorities claimed this was due to complications from a previous surgery. The group claimed that British Embassy diplomats met Pepper on February 16, but that UAE officials were present, supervising the meeting. It said British authorities then made an unexpected visit to the detention centre on May 25, where they had an unsupervised meeting with Pepper, during which he discussed his alleged mistreatment. Chloe said the family no longer trust official reassurances regarding his health and safety. She added: 'We kept being told Ryan was okay. 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.' Ryan pictured with his sister Chloe Pepper Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, said: '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.' She continued: 'British citizens are walking blindly into a system that the UK government knows carries serious risks of arbitrary detention and abuse. 'The family say they are now living in constant fear that Ryan will become another British casualty of the UAE detention system.' An FCDO spokesperson said: 'We are supporting a British man who has been detained in the UAE. 'We are in contact with his family and continue to raise the case directly with the local authorities in the UAE.' No comments have so far been submitted. 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