Mother 'detained in Dubai with four-year-old daughter after drinking one glass of wine on flight from London'

The dentist said she was detained after her Emirates flight touched down at Dubai International Airport (file image)
Detained in Dubai

A mother has told of how she was detained in Dubai for three days with her young daughter after drinking a glass of wine on a flight from London.

Ellie Holman, 44, was held after her Emirates flight touched down at Dubai International Airport where she was locked in a detention centre, according to reports.

The dentist, a Swedish national who lives in Sevenoaks, Kent, now faces spending up to a year in the Arab state for her case to be settled, she told the MailOnline.

Dr Holman said she was not allowed to call her husband from the detention centre and that her four-year-old daughter was forced to go to the toilet on the cell floor.

She said: “My little girl had to go to the toilet on the cell floor. I have never heard her cry in the same way as she did in that cell.

Dr Holman said she faces spending up to a year in Dubai while her case is settled. She is currently on bail 
Getty Images

“My passport remains confiscated until the case is settled, which I have been told will take at least a year.”

The mother said she was served a glass of red with her meal during the flight on July 13, and that drinking it led to her arrest.

After landing she was quizzed by an immigration official, who said her visa was not valid and that she must buy a ticket to return to London immediately.

Following a stand-off with the officer Dr Holman said he then asked if she had been drinking, before telling her it was a crime to be in possession of or consume alcohol.

She began filming him on her phone to gather evidence of his rude behaviour, Dr Holman said, before she was told filming airport officials was an offence.

The mother said her and her daughter were then led to a cell at the airport and had their passports confiscated before being taken to a police station.

There she was asked to take a blood sample to test for alcohol, Dr Holman claimed.

After being held, she was reportedly released on bail. Her daughter and husband flew back to the UK but she remained in Dubai with friends.

The Standard has approached the Swedish ministry for foreign affairs for comment on the case.

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