‘Innocent’ British grandfather is STRANGLED by fellow inmate at Dubai prison and nearly killed while trying to speak to his family on the phone

A British grandfather jailed in a Dubai prison despite claiming his innocence is lucky to be alive after another inmate strangled him with a telephone cord, his son says.

Albert Douglas, 61, was trying to connect with his family on an Al Barsha prison phone when the inmate attacked him from behind.

Fearing that Mr. Douglas was having a stroke, operators immediately called his son Wolfgang in Britain to inform him of his father's situation.

Holding back tears, said 36-year-old Wolfgang The sun that his father's attacker “did their best to strangle him.”

He added: 'They called me straight away and said they think he's having a stroke because he's been gurgling. That wasn't true, he was strangled. He's just a weak old man. He is now completely ready.'

Albert Douglas, 61, tried to connect to his family from an Al Barsha prison phone in the UAE when the 'crazy inmate' attacked him from behind

Albert managed to fend off his attacker and was rushed to hospital.

However, he was then thrown into an isolation room for a month without light or fresh air, where his son says he developed scabies.

The Douglas family believes the inmate – who used the metal cord on the prison phone to strangle Albert – carried out the October attack out of jealousy.

Wolfgang told the publication that Albert regularly calls his relatives, and that Wolfgang has to pay £130 for every 30 minutes he spends on the phone with his father.

The high costs mean many other prisoners cannot afford to make calls.

Albert, who is from London, has described conditions at the maximum security prison in the past as 'medieval' and 'demonic'.

He once lived a lavish lifestyle on Dubai's Palm Islands, driving around in a Rolls Royce with “tens of millions” in the bank.

However, his life fell apart in 2019 when he was arrested and ordered to pay a £2.5 million fine after his son's flooring company – which the grandfather has no connection with – racked up debts it could not repay.

According to Trapped in Dubai – an organization that helps people facing legal problems in the United Arab Emirates – Albert was arrested over a bounced check.

Under Dubai law, anyone associated with a company that owes money can be held liable for their debts – and family members are often prosecuted for payments.

Because his son was back in Britain when the company got into trouble, creditors took Mr Douglas to court and won a judgment against him instead.

Mr Douglas with his son Wolfgang (left) and his two grandchildren. He was arrested in September 2019, after a court found him liable for his son's debts and imposed a three-year prison sentence

This despite forensic tests showing that the check was not his. The 61-year-old was also hit with what he and his lawyers said were trumped-up charges.

He maintains his innocence to this day and has spent over £1 million in the courts to clear his name, which has been in vain to this day.

Wolfgang said that in October Dubai authorities added at least “an additional five years” to his father's sentence.

The 36-year-old told The Sun that although his father 'will never cry (…) he is completely done with it, he has almost given up mentally.

'This is just terrible. Every day he calls you, you just feel sick inside. “In five years they'll just add more, for what?” he asked.

Mr Douglas and his wife Naomi emigrated to Dubai in 2003 where he built a successful business called Alomni Flooring, specializing in real wood floors.

During the United Arab Emirates' real estate boom, when hotels and vacation homes turned the country into a top tourist destination, his business boomed.

The father-of-four lived a luxurious lifestyle and persuaded his eldest son Wolfgang to move to Dubai from his home in London.

Wolfgang started the company TimberWolf and his father was one of the signatories of the company. The business relationship ended in 2018 when Albert gave up any involvement.

According to Detained in Dubai – an organization that helps people facing legal problems in the United Arab Emirates – Albert (right) was arrested over a bounced check he didn't write

“I have lost everything, everything is gone,” Albert said in 2021 after his detention. 'Bank accounts, frozen. Stock, gone. Warehouse, looted.”

That year he also urged MPs to listen to his pleas to do something about his dire situation and for other Britons facing horrific conditions in prison in the UAE.

He said: 'I just don't want other people to be in the same situation. Just do something, try it. Not just for me.

'People don't have a chance. They have crimes and they need people to be held and found guilty of those crimes so they can say all the crimes have been solved.”