Teeth pulled out with pliers. Prisoners beaten with ripped-out pipes. Hundreds of inmates crammed into cells built for half their number. British nationals singled out from the moment they arrive.

This is the grim reality of life in Dubai’s Al Awir Central Prison, where Katie Price’s husband Lee Andrews is currently being held. 

The 43-year-old is imprisoned on fraud allegations, reportedly desperate, and pleading with his former glamour model wife to secure his freedom. 

A former inmate has now revealed exactly what the so-called businessman is facing inside one of the world’s most notorious prisons, nicknamed Dubai’s Alcatraz.

‘There was violence every day. It could be between different nationalities, who were fighting over small issues, or bigger fights, where people were taken to hospital,’ Chris* told the Daily Mail.

‘I could not count how many fights I saw during my time there. People break pipes in the cell and hit each other with them. There was also rape.’

Cells are divided between nationalities, the UAE national added, with Brits being bunked alongside Emiratis, who target Europeans due to their ‘ego’.

‘British people go through the worst. They are kept with Emirati local people, who are way more aggressive,’ Chris, who has a pseudonym for his own safety, said. 

Lee Andrews, who is married to Katie Price, was thrown behind bars in the notorious Al Awir Central Prison on fraud allegations 

The prison (pictured) where Lee is being held is the emirate’s primary correctional facility, hosting both male and female inmates

Ryan Pepper, from Ashford in Kent, has been assaulted, threatened and psychologically abused while imprisoned in the UAE

‘We used to go to some of their cells at times and would see all the things happening there. Brits are treated very badly. If someone is sick, they are not provided any medical help for two to three months.

‘Emirati people have ego issues when it comes to Europeans. It isn’t just British, it is any white person. They want to show they are strong and so treat them badly.’

Meanwhile Katie, 48, relaxed with a candlelit sound bath and Reiki healing sessions on Tuesday, as well as retail therapy in Brighton. 

She has since said she will be divorcing Lee if he doesn’t answer her various questions about his disappearance. 

Chris warned the Mail that Lee, originally from Nottinghamshire, may be facing threats of physical torture, as prison authorities are seen to target foreign nationals.

It is the experience of 27-year-old Ryan Pepper, who has spent seven months locked up ‘without explanation’ in Dubai – where the father-of-two has had teeth pulled out, been threatened and psychologically abused. 

In handwritten notes smuggled from his detention centre, the father-of-two described being physically and verbally attacked, stating that ‘everyone was beaten up’ inside detention.

He warned relatives not to travel to the desert city and called the centre ‘hell’.

The former glamour model Katie enjoyed retail therapy in Brighton on Tuesday, after treating herself to Reiki healing sessions

Despite being a self-proclaimed billionaire, Lee has pleaded with Katie to set up a GoFundMe to free him from prison

The prison is the Emiratis’s primary correctional facility, hosting both male and female inmates, and has been known to coerce inmates, including British expats, into confession. 

Humiliation begins the moment inmates walk through the door, as prisoners must have a shaved head at all times and are punished if their hair gets long. 

Women, including expats, reportedly have to wear head coverings while inside. 

‘They stripped us down and checked our entire body when we arrived. Then they shaved our hair, we were completely bald before we went in,’ Chris said.

‘They just give you a white cotton T-shirt and white pants. They don’t give you any basic necessities. You don’t have a toothbrush, toothpaste and you don’t get soap.’

The 29-year-old endured the ‘hellhole’ for six months after he was sentenced for failing to pay his flat’s rent. 

Currently out on a month-long bail, he has mere days to cover the debt – or faces another stint behind bars.

Chris, born-and-raised in the UAE, was crammed into a cell holding around 350 to 370 people – numbers which far exceed the 180-bed and eight-bathroom allocation.

‘I cannot explain how horrific the washrooms are,’ he said. ‘The police fill the toilet with cement, it is so disgusting. They mentally torture you. It is very unhygienic.’

The conditions prompted ‘nearly everyone to be sick’, and what Chris estimates to be around 90 per cent of his cell to contract scabies. ‘Everyone was itching,’ he said.

He also watched helplessly as a 28-year-old fellow inmate died from a heart attack in his cell, which Chris believes was triggered by the inhumane conditions.

New prisoners are ‘suffocated’ by the smell of smoke as they enter their cell, as inmates are allowed cigarettes while imprisoned. Chris described: ‘The smell overwhelms you in the beginning, but eventually you get used to it.’ 

Three meals are served a day, Chris told the paper, which include local cuisine. 

Inmates must either pay for a bed or sleep on a mattress on the floor, he added, while the confined space allows for violence to dominate.

Daniel Kinahan, hunted by the authorities for years, was arrested in Dubai after a warrant issued by an Irish court in relation to directing an organised crime gang

Dubai’s prison has faced significant scrutiny since its creation around 40 years ago over reported overcrowding, dire conditions that allow diseases to breed and fester, and widespread violence

As many of the most high-profile accounts of the ghastly conditions have come from men in recent years, the situation faced by women is feared to be even more brutal – with claims of female inmates being kept in the pitch black and tortured by ice-cold temperatures. 

The prison has faced significant scrutiny since its creation around 40 years ago over reported overcrowding, dire conditions that allow diseases to breed and fester, and widespread violence.

European prisoners are targeted by both inmates and staff, with claims of torture, extortion and restricted access to medical care. 

Karl Williams, a Brit who was jailed in Dubai’s Alcatraz for a year in 2012, revealed in his memoir how he saw men being stabbed to death, had electric shocks administered to his testicles and feared corrupt police would gang rape him.

He also claimed he saw men torn apart by knife-wielding inmates, while others were forcibly infected with HIV.

Irish crime boss Daniel Kinahan also sat within the prison walls, having been caught in April after being hunted by authorities for years. 

Kinahan was arrested in Dubai after a warrant issued by an Irish court in relation to directing an organised crime gang.

He is now facing extradition to Ireland, but the process could take at least three months, a former senior Garda officer warned, leaving the mob boss waiting in conditions vastly different from his luxury lifestyle in Dubai. 

The alarming conditions are seemingly being concealed from the human rights watchdogs. Chris described how prisoners were scurried to a separate facility ahead of a UN visit in December.

‘When the group came, the police completely evacuated everyone from the cell, leaving around 20 to 30 people. We were moved to a different police station. They even removed our names from the system,’ he said.

When asked how Lee may survive the prison, Chris said: ‘They target people who have money. If you spend money with the right people, they keep you safe.

‘I would advise him to be close to the foreman and don’t get into any fights.’

The foreman is the informal leader of the cell – a relationship Chris credits with his survival.

Many inmates are kept in the dark about their own cases, with Chris estimating ‘around 60 to 70 per cent of people didn’t know why they were still inside’.

Prisoners are also held despite their sentences ending, he said, including one man who has remained in the cell for seven years – three more than his term.

This is extended as low-income inmates are restricted access to legal advice due to high fees, meaning they remain behind bars despite technically being ‘free’.

When asked for lasting advice for Katie, Chris said: ‘Keep pushing with the embassy and consulate. Ask them to check the status, what the current situation is and the expected release date. Get all the information.’

*A pseudonym was used for safety purposes