Brit air hostess, 23, living off bread & water in Dubai jail after forced into fake confession over cannabis, family say

Samantha Lock

Published: 16:34, 10 Jul 2020
Updated: 18:21, 10 Jul 2020

A BRITISH air hostess, 23, has been living off bread and water in a Dubai hellhole jail after being forced into a fake confession over cannabis joints, her family claim.

Derrin Crawford was arrested last Thursday when cops raided an apartment belonging to a man she said she only met for the first time that night.

Derrin Crawford, a 23-year-old Emirates flight attendant from Liverpool, was arrested last Thursday

The cops raided the apartment of a man she had met for the first time that nightCredit: Instagram

Officers found drugs in the apartment that the 23-year-old was inCredit: Instagram

Officers found two cannabis joints and the Emirates flight attendant from Liverpool was thrown in Al Barsha jail.

'IN PIECES'

One pal explained: “Derrin is in absolute pieces and all her family and friends are terrified about how she is doing.

“It is now nearly a week since anyone spoke to her.

"The last time we did she was sobbing saying they kept saying she should 'admit it'.

"We don’t even think she’s been able to speak to a lawyer who speaks English. Everyone just wants her out of there - and home.”

Yesterday the head of a charity 'Detained in Dubai' who supports Brits jailed in the UAE said they were concerned about Derrin’s treatment.

The police are not letting her communicate with anyone from the outside, they are not letting her make phone calls.
Chief executive Radha Stirling of charity 'Detained in Dubai'

Chief executive Radha Stirling said: "The police are not letting her communicate with anyone from the outside, they are not letting her make phone calls, she has been completely cut off in the police station.

"We've been trying to get lawyers to attend a person to represent her ... we're just looking to progress this as quickly as possible."

SHOCK ARREST

Derrin was arrested alongside the man she had only met for the first time that night.

Her date is believed to be a marketing executive, from London, who she had met on a night out.

She was told she would be released if she passed a drug test but despite testing negative on Friday, she is still being detained.

Her family are extremely concerned for her welfare as she is being held in a notorious Al-Barsha police station.

Speaking yesterday, her sister Danielle, 28, said how Derrin, who lost her mother aged 11, moved to Dubai in September 2018 after securing a dream job with Emirates.

Danielle said: "She is innocent, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"The police have been trying to interrogate her, but she doesn't even know this guy.

"When she was arrested the police took her phone, she managed to call me a few days later when she was being transferred to jail.

She is innocent, she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Sister, Danielle

"At first I couldn't understand what she was saying because she was just crying and crying. She didn't eat or sleep for days.

"She doesn't drink or smoke and has a good job with Emirates, so it is a shame she has got caught up in all this. She's only 23 and is just so scared."

Now, Derrin's family says she needs "urgent medical assistance" after developing septic tonsillitis over the weekend.

Speaking out on Twitter about the situation, Ms Stirling said: "Derrin Crawford's family are extremely concerned for her health. Derrin suffers from tonsillitis which can cause her airways to close. Derrin's condition can escalate to septic (life-threatening) if left. Please arrange medical urgently."

Later she added: "Our legal team attending @ DUBAIPOLICEHQ for #DerrinCrawford who has been @detainedindubai since Thursday & is in need of urgent medical care for septic tonsilitis. Family VERY worried for her life."