Asa Hutchinson, 21, has been charged with assault and theft after her male friends took selfies with a sleeping Swedish man.
The row turned violent after the middle-aged executive awoke and began fighting with the British men, then reported them to police for stealing his spectacles.
As the UK men were tourists, police have also blamed expat Miss Hutchinson, from Chelmsford, Essex, over the disturbance and the missing glasses.
Miss Hutchinson, an account manager with a transport firm, is being backed by pressure group Detained in Dubai, which helps foreigners who fall foul of UAE laws.
She said yesterday: “It is so unfair. I was not involved – I just happened to be there but the police are not interested in anything I have to say. Once the Swedish man made his complaint it was taken as fact. I can’t go to jail, I couldn’t cope.”
The drama happened at Dusty’s hotel, in the financial district.
Miss Hutchinson said she did not see the fight but when she heard the commotion she picked up the spectacles and put them in a bin to stop them being broken.
She said: “The Swedish man called police and made official complaints about the boys for taking pictures of him and being rude.”
The group was summoned to a police station after their names were traced from the reservations list at the hotel restaurant.
Miss Hutchinson’s friends were allowed to leave after paying deposits to get their passports back, leaving her to face the wrath of Dubai’s justice system.