A British tourist imprisoned for being gay in Morocco has said jail there was like a "concentration camp" as he returned to the UK.
Ray Cole had an emotional reunion with his family at Gatwick Airport following his release after 20 days behind bars.
The 69-year-old was sentenced to four months in prison with his Moroccan friend Jamal Jam Wald Nass after homosexual images were found on his password-protected phone.
The pair were languishing in a Marrakesh jail until Mr Cole was granted a conditional release on Tuesday after an appeal was lodged.
Moments after being reunited with relatives at the airport, the retired magazine publisher said he was "relieved" to be back home.
He told reporters: "I did not expect this at all - I thought I was going to be transferred to a different prison. They gave me a choice of staying in Morocco another night or getting the next flight back.
"You would not believe it, it's horrendous. It's not a prison, it's a concentration camp. People are in there from the age of 10 to 80 and 90s for nothing.
"I can hardly move my arm from sleeping on the floor."
When asked about the support from his family he said: "I'm so proud of them - I could not have a better family."
The case generated huge interest on social media from supporters who asked for the Moroccan authorities to free Mr Cole, from Deal, Kent.
A petition was set up, a "Free Ray Cole" hashtag circulated on Twitter and a Facebook page demanded the release of Mr Cole, who has a minor heart condition.
He struck up a friendship with Mr Nass, who is in his 20s, on Facebook. It was on Mr Cole's second visit to Morocco to see him that they were detained at a bus stop by officers.
It is unclear what has happened to Mr Nass.
Mr Cole, who is 70 on 25 October, was four weeks into a five-week break in the north African country when the pair were held on 18 September.
Initially he was held in a cell intended for 44 men which was holding 60, forcing him to sleep on the ground and live with dangerous prisoners.
His son Adrian, 41, said the guards and prison governor had treated the family "graciously" and that his father's release had been a "massive step towards restoring my faith towards the Moroccan system".
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