Mum jailed over glass of wine freed by Dubai ruler
A BRITISH mother who claimed she was jailed in Dubai for drinking a glass of wine on her flight from London has been released on the orders of the country’s ruler.
Dr Ellie Holman, 44, was locked up for three days with her fouryear-old daughter, Bibi, after a row about a visa with an immigration officer.
She was released yesterday after Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum personally intervened.
The mother-of-three from Sevenoaks, Kent, was last night with the rest of her family, who had flown to Dubai to support her. They planned to return to Britain on the first possible flight.
‘I can’t believe this is over,’ she said. ‘When I got the call from the government telling me they are dropping the case I was in shock.’
Dr Holman claims she was imprisoned after saying she had consumed a glass of red wine served to her on an Emirates flight to Dubai. It is illegal to drink alcohol in the Muslim emirate.