The family of a grandfather imprisoned and allegedly beaten in the United Arab Emirates fear he could end up being held there “for the rest of his life”.

Albert Douglas, from Enfield, owns a successful flooring company that profited during the Middle Eastern country’s property boom.

In 2019, the 60-year-old was served a £2.5 million fine by the Gulf state after his son’s company, which he has no association with, racked up debts it couldn't repay – a criminal offence in the UAE.

Despite having left his son Wolfgang’s firm in 2018, a court ruled that Mr Douglas was liable for the offences. And after losing his appeal in February this year, Mr Douglas tried to flee the country by hiring people smugglers to transport him to Oman.

But he was caught at the border and thrown in prison with a three year sentence.

Wolfgang, 34, and living in South Kensington with his mother, said: “My father has been sucked into a vortex through no fault of his own and had his life destroyed. He’s an innocent man.

"They went after my father because I had come home to the UK when my cheques bounced.

“He has been subjected to beatings and has watched other people being tortured – people being hung upside down and having their testicles burnt.

“We’ve been able to get phone calls out to him but it’s very difficult. We’re hoping he won’t be moved again because then it would become impossible [to contact him].”

He continued: “It’s common in the UAE for them to go after family members or extended family [of a person charged with financial crimes] and make examples of them.

“In the UK we have bankruptcy laws and things to protect individuals' rights, but they have nothing like that.”

The family also fear that Mr Douglas will face further charges, as his own company, Alomni Flooring, faces its own difficulties with paying creditors.

“He’s now got an avalanche of his own problems. He’s now overwhelmed and he could spend the rest of his life in prison,” said Wolfgang.

Mr Douglas was incarcerated at Al Ain prison in Abu Dhabi before being transferred to Bur Dubai jail where east Londoner Lee Bradley Brown died in 2011 after being beaten.

Mr Douglas has allegedly been beaten with batons and until recently was deprived of his medication for Angina.

The UAE Ministry of Justice was approached for comment but there was no response.

Mr Douglas’s family is working with campaigner Radha Stirling of Detained in Dubai, and are calling on the Government to negotiate Mr Douglas’s release and deportation back to the UK.