Three British men have claimed they were tortured with harsh beatings, electric shocks on their testicles and guns put to their heads after being arrested in Dubai.
Grant Cameron and Karl Williams, both 25 and from London, and Suneet Jeerh, 25, from Essex, were arrested while on holiday on July 10 last year by police who claimed to have found a quantity of a synthetic cannabis known as "spice" in their car.
Williams said that his tormenters kept telling him he was about to die, pointing guns at his face, stripping off his trousers and electrocuting his genitals.
The men signed documents in Arabic - a language none of them understands - after being threatened and tortured, Marc Calcutt said, lawyer for human rights charity Reprieve.
In a draft witness statement distributed by Reprieve, Williams said: "I remember that the police put a towel on my face so I could not see. They kept telling me I was going to die. I was so scared.
"Once I had been knocked to the ground, the police picked me up and put me on the bed.
"They pulled down my trousers, spread my legs and started to electrocute my testicles. It was unbelievably painful. I was so scared.
"Then they took off the towel and I could see that there was a gun pointed at my head. All I could think was that the gun in my face could go off if the policeman slipped, and it would kill me. I started to believe that I was going to die in that room."
The torture took place in the desert, it was claimed, where the men were initially taken after their arrest, and subsequently in a hotel room.
All three deny the drugs charges, and are due to appear in court on Thursday. They have spent seven months in custody.
Williams and Cameron have been held at Port Rashid police station since their arrest, while Jeerh was moved and is now in Al Awir Central Jail.
Calcutt said: "The idea that young British tourists on holiday can find themselves arrested and tortured in this way is truly appalling.
"Being electrocuted in the testicles is about as brutal a torture as can be imagined.
"The Dubai authorities need to immediately drop the charges against the men and conduct an independent investigation into how these terrible events occurred.
"If they do not, I am sure this story will linger in people's memories - particularly when it comes to booking their holidays."
A spokesman for the Foreign Office told HuffPost UK: "“We can confirm that we have been providing consular assistance to three British nationals detained in the UAE since July 2012. We have also been in close contact with Reprieve.
“The FCO takes all allegations of mistreatment and torture extremely seriously. With the individual’s consent, we raise allegations of mistreatment with the relevant authorities and request that they conduct a full impartial and independent investigation.”
In 2011, American tourist Adam Foster was jailed for 30 days for "stealing police handcuffs". Foster claimed he had found the handcuffs in the street. Foster claimed police tied him to a chair, whipped him and beat him until he signed a confession written in Arabic.