British mother held in Dubai for calling ex-husband's new wife "a horse" in 3-year-old Facebook post
A British mother Laleh Shahravesh, facing jail time in Dubai over a three-year-old Facebook post, broke her silence today when she pleaded and begged to be allowed to return back home and be reunited with her daughter. The 55-year-old said she was left traumatized by the arrest and has been under the threat of prison over an old social media post.
Speaking to the DailyMail, she said: "I have never been apart from my daughter for so long. The thought of being away from her even longer does not bear thinking about. I am being destroyed mentally and I feel as if I am slowly dying." Shahravesh is facing around two years in prison and an additional fine of £50,000.
"Never in a million years did I think I would find myself in this situation over something that was written three years ago. My life is in ruins. I am told I could go to jail but all I want to do is go home and give my daughter Paris a big hug. I can’t bear to be away from her any longer and the thought of having to spend more time here fills me with dread. I don’t know how much longer I can continue. It is agony. Whenever we talk we are both in tears, but I have to try and be strong for her. I just don’t know when this living nightmare is going to end," she continued.
"Sometimes I do not know what day it is as everything is a blur. How can something I wrote three years ago when I was not even in Dubai be used against me?" she added. Shahravesh has not been allowed to leave Dubai for 30 days after she was arrested at the airport on March 10. She had come with her 14-year-old daughter to grieve at her former husband's graveside as he had died from a heart attack. She was not allowed to attend the funeral but wanted to pay her last respects.
"I spent half my life with him and he was the father of our daughter. It was natural to want to come to Dubai," she shared. When she went through passport control, she was taken by the police who revealed to her that her ex-husband's new wife Samah Al Hammadi had made a legal complaint about a Facebook post where she had been described as "a horse". Despite the fact that the post was made from Britain on Shahravesh's Facebook page in 2016, she was held on an outstanding arrest warrant.
"I arrived here as a tourist and have not been allowed to leave over a comment that was made three years ago. I just don’t see how something that was written on my own Facebook page can be used against me. How many people must there be who post comments and forget all about them? I was angry and hurt when I made the comments, and they were directed at my ex-husband. They were never sent to his wife, but she somehow saw them and complained to the police. I am just so afraid and don’t know how much longer I can continue here," Shahravesh shared.
"I feel that I will never get out of here. This matter should never have come to court but everything has gone wrong for me and I am so frightened," she continued. She explained why she had written the post and revealed that the picture of her ex and his new wife she had commented on was only days after what would have been her wedding anniversary with her ex. "My husband and I had a very acrimonious divorce. He left me with nothing and I was completely shattered. I guessed all along there was another woman, but he never said so."
Al Hamadi revealed she is looking at dropping the complaint after reading a plea by Paris to the ruler of Dubai to have mercy. Shahravesh is expected to be in court on Thursday and will come face to face with her accuser. "Having been forced to stay here it already feels like a prison. I just feel totally helpless and want this all to be over as soon as possible," she shared. A GoFundMe page has been started to help with the lawyer fees and cover hotel bills to get Shahravesh back to her daughter.