Daughter of Laleh Shahravesh held in Dubai over 'horse' Facebook posts says she 'cries every night'

• Video report by ITV News Reporter Martha Fairlie

The daughter of a woman who faces two years in a Dubai jail for calling her late ex-husband's new wife a "horse" has said "every day feels a little harder".

In an interview with ITV News, Paris Shahravesh, 14, said the ordeal was "incredibly difficult" and she "comes home every day and just cries".

Paris had been reunited with her father, Pedro, just a year before he died suddenly in March of a heart attack.

Paris and her mother travelled to Dubai for his funeral, where Laleh was arrested at the airport for allegedly breaking the country's cyber-crime laws.

"It was unreal. I was beyond shocked. I couldn't believe it," Paris says of the ordeal.

"We only went to Dubai to say goodbye to my dad. That's all I wanted. It's as if I was asking for too much."

Paris returned to the UK alone five days later, leaving her mother, whose passport has been taken away, in Dubai where she is awaiting a hearing on Thursday.

Neither Paris or her mother were allowed to attend Pedro's funeral, she said.

Paris said her mother was trying to "staying strong" for her but it was "incredibly difficult" for both of them.

"She's my rock. She's who I lean on. She means a lot to me, more than anything.

"Everyday feels a little harder. I've never been without my mum for so long.

"I hadn't seen my dad for a while before he passed away and it just feels like my life is repeating itself."

Mother and daughter have been messaging, although they are not allowed to speak. According to her sister, who Paris is staying with, Laleh is "not coping at all".

Paris said she wanted "more than anything" for her mother's case to be dropped but was "losing hope" everyday.

Paris wrote to UAE officials on Tuesday asking them return her mother's passport.

"Neither of us deserve this. We had to deal with losing my dad and all we wanted to do was say goodbye. We weren't even allowed to go to his funeral."

There has been speculation Pedro's new wife, Samah al Hammadi, from Tunisia, who reported the Facebook posts is considering dropping the charges.

Pleading for her to do so, Paris said: "Show that you have a heart and you loved my dad. And if you did, drop the case. It's just a few words, it's not a lot to ask for."

Paris' aunt, Ledan Perry, said: "This horrific ordeal is just ruining our family and we're shocked about it all. We did not know about the prison charges until recently because everything was in Arabic.

"We just want her home. We're really sorry, I apologise for my sister's behaviour. Paris needs her mum back here. Please. This is a really horrific ordeal for everyone in the family. And Paris needs her mum, here, back home where she belongs."

Ms Shahravesh allegedly wrote the Facebook posts three years ago when she discovered her ex-husband Pedro, who she was married to for 18 years, had remarried.

One post read: "I hope you go under the ground you idiot. Damn you. You left me for this horse."

Another comment said: "You married a horse you idiot."

The posts were written while Ms Shahravesh was in the UK but under UAE’s strict cyber-crime laws, a person can be jailed or fined for making defamatory statements on social media.

Ms Shahravesh's posts, written in Farsi, were reported by Pedro's new wife, Samah al Hammadi, campaign group Detained In Dubai said.

However Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, said the complainant is considering retracting her statement out of respect for Paris.

After seeing the interview with Paris, Samah al Hammadi told ITV News: “I am sorry for Paris but her mother is guilty. She should take responsibility for her acts."

Ms Hammadi is still considering whether to drop the charges against Laleh Shahravesh and wants to wait for Thursday’s court hearing and discussing it with her lawyer before making a decision, she says.

“Her [Laleh's] lawyer contacted me directly today and proposed a solution - that she will apologise and take back all the terrible things and lies she has said about me and my husband in exchange for me dropping the case. She needs to clean up this mess.”

“The terrible abuse and harassment [from Laleh Shahravesh] was not just what she said on Facebook posts", Ms al Hammadi added.

"She was telling lies that were much worse about me and my husband for years.”

Ms al Hammadi has challenged Paris' account that she and her mother were not allowed to attend Pedro's funeral.

She said: "A friend of Pedro told them on the night that Pedro died that there wouldn’t be a funeral."

The friend is also said to have told the pair that Pedro had converted to Islam and would only have a burial a day or two after his death which women could not attend in accordance with Islamic tradition.

“I don’t understand how they can arrive on March 10, so many days after he died and after he was buried and then claim that they were not allowed to go to the funeral,” Ms al Hammadi said. Pedro died on March 3.

“I think it’s just a story they are saying to attract people to their side emotionally.”