A British man, Mark Arnold, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail in Dubai after being convicted of murdering his ex-girlfriend, a British Embassy spokesman said
Arnold, 43, from Stoke-on-Trent, was charged with the murder of South African Kerry Winter after a neighbour allegedly reported seeing him attack her.
Ms Winter has not been seen since August 2008.
Ms Winter's family have urged Arnold to tell the truth about their last meeting, and dismissed his claims that he was innocent.
Last September, he told reporters from his prison cell that he and Ms Winter had argued over money but he did not know what happened to her.
"I wish I knew where she was," he said then.
"I am innocent and I want to prove it.
"I've been in jail for 12 months based only on suspicion".
However the family dismissed that as a "load of rubbish".
Ms Winter was last heard from on the evening of August 20, 2008 when she phoned her friend, Jo Brown, to say that Arnold had followed her to a hotel.
Police allowed family members to question Arnold.
Relatives have said he told them she was alive and well when he left her that day.
