'Major red flag sign' before British influencer facing firing squad was charged with murder
British TikToker Brooke George is facing a murder charge in Dubai after stabbing a man she met online in self-defence after he allegedly assaulted her.
The 23-year-old, who posts beauty routine videos and lip syncs online, says she met a man on Facebook who invited her to Dubai.
During her first visit, he paid for her flights and arranged a professional bikini photoshoot, even though she never asked for one.
Campaigner Radha Stirling says this was a major red flag sign, suggesting he may have been trying to groom her.
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On her second visit to Dubai, Brooke claimed the man became controlling and only bought her only a one-way ticket.
After he allegedly took her passport and attacked her during a night out, she says she grabbed a kitchen knife to defend herself before trying to fly home to Britain.
She was arrested at the airport and charged with premeditated murder, a crime that can carry the death penalty in the UAE, as well as death by firing squad.
“After Brooke returned to Dubai for the second time, the dynamic between them had clearly changed,” said Brooke’s mother Thereza George.
“The day before the incident, she did not seem like herself. She was quieter and not her usual happy, cheerful self, but she did not tell me why.
“That evening they went to a bar in Dubai. When I spoke to Brooke right after the incident, she was absolutely terrified.”
Thereza continued: “I have never seen my daughter so frightened in my life. She was crying uncontrollably. I could see that one of her eyes was badly swollen and was beginning to close.
“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.”
Stirling, the CEO of Detained in Dubai, said the case ‘raises serious concerns about violence against women, the right to self defence, due process and the treatment of British nationals detained overseas’.
“Brooke maintains that she acted only after being subjected to a violent assault and in genuine fear for her safety. She should be treated not merely as an accused person, but as a presumed victim of violence whose allegations and documented injuries deserve proper investigation,” she added.
“We will be working to ensure that her rights are protected, that she receives a fair trial, and that the circumstances leading to this tragedy are fully and impartially examined.”
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office said: "We are in touch with a British woman detained in the UAE, we are supporting her family, and we are in contact with the local authorities."
Anish Vij