A British mother facing jail in Dubai over a three-year-old Facebook post says she is 'frightened to death’ and feels ‘abandoned’ by Britain as she awaits her fate.

Laleh Shahravesh, 55, said she has had 'little help' from consular officials in the UAE after her arrest almost a month ago.

She is anxiously awaiting her court appearance later this week.

The single mother was arrested along with her 14-year-old daughter Paris when she arrived in the Arab kingdom for her ex-husband's funeral last month.

She discovered that his second wife had complained about a disparaging social media post she had made in 2016, and she was held under Dubai's strict cyber crime laws.

While her daughter was allowed to return home to Britain, Laleh was banned from leaving the country as her passport has been confiscated.

Lawyers have told the single mother she faces up to two years in jail and a fine of £50,000 when she appears in court later this week.

As soon as Laleh and her daughter landed in Dubai on March 10, intending to stay for five days, they were arrested at the airport.

Immigration authorities had an outstanding arrest warrant following the complaint made in 2017 about the Facebook post. 

The two offending posts were: 'I hope you go under the ground you idiot. Damn you. You left me for this horse' and 'You married a horse you idiot'.

The terrified pair spent 12 hours in a police station and were not offered any food and hardly any water.

Welcome to life in an Islamist country.