Inside Dubai’s ‘Alcatraz’ jail where Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews is allegedly held
Katie Price says she has found her missing husband Lee Andrews, who has reportedly been detained inside Dubai’s notorious Al Awir prison on suspicion of espionage

 Lee Andrews(Image: @wesleeeandrews/instagram)

Katie Price’s husband, Lee Andrews, has ‘been located’, as she revealed today that he managed to call her for a brief two-minute conversation from Dubai Central Jail (also known as Al Awir), situated in the Al Aweer district of the city.

The celebrity disclosed that over a fortnight ago, on Wednesday 14 May, he was allegedly arrested on suspicion of espionage and has been held since then. The 47-year-old former glamour model announced: “I have found him – he is alive, and he is okay. I told him how worried I had been and told him I loved him.

“It was very rushed, but he said the authorities out there thought he was a spy. I don’t know much more than that right now,” she informed The Sun.

The Dubai prison Katie claims Lee is in(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

The prison where Lee is reportedly being detained is the emirate’s main correctional facility, housing both male and female inmates. Over the years, the prison has frequently come under fire in the press, with numerous reports suggesting substandard conditions.

Detained in Dubai stated that prisoners are unlikely to be allocated a bed upon their initial arrival at the prison. “You may if you’re lucky get a bed, but more likely you’ll be on your blanket (which isn’t washed) on the floor. Each “Amber” – room – has 96 bunks making a total of 192 beds,” their website explains, reports the Mirror.

Inside the Dubai prison cell(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Human Rights Watch documented human rights abuses, including non-national prisoners being refused vital HIV treatment. They also flagged numerous other concerns: “Prisons across the UAE held detainees in dismal and unhygienic conditions, where overcrowding and lack of adequate medical care is widespread.”

Former prisoners have also come forward to describe the conditions they endured. London resident Suneet Jeerh, 25, was jailed at Al Awir prison in 2013 after synthetic cannabinoid “spice” was discovered in a vehicle he was travelling in with two mates.

He is allegedly being held in the facility(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Davena Kumar, Suneet’s sister, revealed to the Ilford Recorder in 2013 that her brother was forced to witness men being sexually assaulted, and that he was “wasting away” behind bars.

“He’s sharing a cell with someone who’s been sentenced for life,” she told the publication at the time. “They’ve made him watch other men being raped, like it’s a lesson.’

She then described his physical state: “He was skinny and he wasn’t himself,” she said, adding: “He was banging on the door calling my name and I just wanted to hug him.”

Suneet and his mates were arrested in 2012 and freed in 2013. After returning to Britain, they alleged they had been tortured by Dubai police, which included beatings and being compelled to sign fabricated confessions – claims Dubai authorities rejected.

Katie with her husband Lee in happier times(Image: Instagram )

Former British prisoners have sketched a disturbing portrait of existence within the facility, and a report from 2025 revealed that sexual assault and rape occurred on a daily basis. Karl Williams, who was incarcerated in 2012 after police discovered drugs in his rental car, described Al-Awir as the “Dubai version of Alcatraz”. He alleged witnessing violent confrontations in the prison, including instances where inmates were fatally stabbed.

Albert Douglas told The Sun that a fellow inmate sleeping in the bunk beneath him had his private parts burnt off by a guard. He also claimed young men around the age of 20 in his cell were hung upside down and subjected to beatings for amusement. Both the prison and Dubai’s government have consistently refuted all these allegations.