BBC interview with Radha Stirling of Detained in Dubai on Laleh Sharavesh & UAE Cybercrime Laws

Detained in Dubai said Laleh Shahravesh could be sentenced to up to two years in prison or fined £50,000, despite the 55-year-old writing the Facebook posts ‘horse face’ while in the UK.

The organisation said Ms Shahravesh's ex-husband's new wife, who lives in Dubai, reported the comments.

It said Ms Shahravesh and her daughter flew to the UAE on 10 March to attend the funeral of their husband and father, who had died of a heart attack.

At the time of her arrest, Ms Shahravesh was with her 14-year-old daughter, who later had to fly home on her own, it added.

The chief executive of Detained in Dubai, Radha Stirling, told BBC News that both her organisation and the Foreign Office (FCO) had asked the complainant to withdraw the allegation, but she had refused.

The decision "seems quite vindictive really", she added.

Ms Stirling said her client had been bailed, but her passport had been confiscated and she was currently living in a hotel.

She said Ms Shahravesh was "absolutely distraught" and it was going to take her a long time to recover from her ordeal.

Her daughter was "very upset" and had "been through really what you would call hell", she said.

"All she wants is to be reunited with her mother," Ms Stirling added.

The 14-year-old was putting together an appeal in her mother's case, Ms Stirling said.

She added that "no-one would really be aware" of the severity of cyber-crime laws in the UAE, and the FCO had failed to adequately warn tourists about them.”