Rada Stirling, director of the UK organization Human Rights Watch, expressed concern over the negative impact of the memorandum of understanding signed by London and Abu Dhabi to help improve the image of the UAE in Britain.
Stirling said it came at a time when British academic Matthew Hedges was being held in an Emirati prison.
Stirling urged the British government to prevent mistreatment of its citizens who were wrongly detained in UAE prisons instead of helping the UAE improve its image.
She added that a number of British citizens have traveled to the UAE, convinced that it is a safe destination, and ended up in UAE prisons, where they face harassment and torture and forced to recognize crimes they did not commit.
She called on the British government to warn its citizens and tell them the high risks of traveling to or through the UAE.
The UAE authorities arrested Hedges on May 5 at Dubai International Airport after a two-week visit and issued an amnesty for Hedges after he was sentenced to life imprisonment in November after publishing a video that admits In which he was a member of the British intelligence service, and that he was searching for military regimes in the UAE.
After being released, the British academic said he had no choice but to confess to espionage charges while in the UAE for nearly seven months. He was shocked when the UAE authorities asked him to steal documents and information from the British Foreign Office.