Scott Richards, who holds both British and Australian citizenship, promoted a charity drive to buy blankets and tarpaulins for refugees in Afghanistan.
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Richards is only allowed to change his clothes once every seven days, and has to pay for water, his mother, Penelope Haberfield, told the BBC.
Scott Richards unwittingly fell foul of the United Arab Emirates’ “bizarre” laws banning the operation of any charity not registered in the country.
But Richards’ act of kindness was met with an unexpected effect on July 28, when he was arrested and held for 22 days.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that Dubai authorities charged Richards on Friday.
In the UAE, strict rules permit that people can not share fundraising campaigns in the Gulf city without written permission from the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department.
Mr Richards, who had been working in Dubai as an economic development adviser, says he has been denied bail and access to legal representation. Fundraising without permission, which he has now been charged with, carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $27,000. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, he was arrested in July after sharing a post about a GoFundMe campaign on his Facebook page.
Detained in Dubai said it handles around 50 cases a month, including several British citizens, and a freedom of information request revealed that 258 Brits were arrested in the UAE in 2014 alone.
“I haven’t managed to speak to him again”, she said.
Ms Haberfield said her son was a volunteer and was not fundraising.
Mr Richards is being held in Al Murraqabat Police Station and has only been able to make limited phone calls.
“Radha Stirling, founder of Detained in Dubai, said: “‘Holding an Australian-British National in detention for weeks without charge, is a breach of worldwide human rights standards”.
“There are constantly expats falling foul of the law and also being victims of other people because it’s so easy in the UAE for an individual to take out a police complaint against someone”, he said.
The hashtag #FreeScottRichards is being used to support his case on Facebook and Twitter, while a friend is doing a charity run to raise awareness.
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The UAE Embassy did not return the ABC’s inquiries.
