Danielle Spencer has been incarcerated for over a month after an overnight
stay with New Zealand banker Toby Carroll in the Arab state allegedly ended
in violent scenes involving his ex-girlfriend.
Her mother, Angela Genter, said her 31 year-old daughter was desperate to be
released but said that the family had received no legal advice and was
unable to fund a trip to Dubai to help her.
It is understood that police have dropped charges of assault against Miss
Spencer but are continuing to pursue charges of sex outside marriage which
is illegal in the United Arab Emirates.
Mr Carroll, a real estate analyst for HSBC bank in the Gulf emirate, has been
released on bail.
Mrs Genter, 49, who is recovering from cancer, described the situation as "every
parent's worst nightmare".
She said: "I am at the end of my tether.
"I was initially told she was going to be released. They said she was
initially arrested for the fight, but they dropped that when they realised
she was a victim. Now they are holding her for a charge of sex outside
marriage."
"We are not a family who can afford a solicitor. A flight out there is
f400."
Mr Carroll called the police last month after the couple had been disturbed at
5.30am when his ex-girlfriend, a Brazilian woman known only as Priscilla,
let herself into his flat and allegedly went on the rampage with a knife.
The police arrested all three involved.
Mr Carroll has been a well-respected and much-quoted analyst of Dubai's
property market during the last few years, when it has been undergoing a
huge boom-and-bust.
His mother, Beverley, who lives in Paeroa, on New Zealand's north island,
said: "The whole thing has been blown out of proportion."
Miss Spencer moved to the emirate after travelling round the world, and worked
for a series of real estate companies as a research consultant. She attended
Newland High School in Hull until she was 16 and studied for a degree in
public relations and journalism at Dubai University College while she was
working.
