UAE | Crime
Lawyer advises kissing couple in Dubai to appeal again
Cassation court in Dubai is last resort after judge upholds jail sentence for British couple found guilty of kissing in public
- By Bassam Za'za', Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:00 April 5, 2010
Dubai: A British couple will be jailed for one month and then deported after a court Sunday upheld an earlier ruling that found them guilty of kissing in public while under the influence of alcohol.
The Dubai Appeals Court upheld the primary judgment that the 25-year-old British woman, a visitor, and the 24-year-old man, a Dubai-based marketing executive, were guilty of public indecency.
Presiding Judge Aysar Fouad also confirmed the Dh1,000 fine against the pair for consuming alcohol would stand.
When the duo appeared in court last month, they pleaded not guilty and denied kissing in public, claiming "it was a peck on the cheek". They admitted consuming liquor. The couple's lawyer Hamad Al Hosani told Gulf News that the marketing executive was planning to appeal yesterday's judgment before the Dubai Cassation Court.
Meanwhile, the woman is still consulting her lawyer as to whether to appeal or not.
"Although there is a dim hope, we have advised both of our clients to appeal before the highest court.
"The 24-year-old has planned to appeal, meanwhile, the 25-year-old is most likely not going to appeal. She is a visitor and staying here is costing her. However the matter is still under consultation," said Al Hosani.
It is believed that the woman, who is currently on bail, will turn herself in to Dubai Public Prosecution's Criminal Rulings' Execution Section to carry out her sentence.
"The Court has rejected the convicts' appeal and upheld the primary judgment," pronounced Presiding Judge Fouad when he handed out the verdict in Courtroom 17. More than 20 British and local media reporters attended yesterday's hearing.
The minute the judge pronounced the judgment in Arabic, a number of reporters walked outside the courtroom, while the convicts remained seated.
A few minutes passed before they realised what had happened and they walked out of the hall following their lawyer, only to be surrounded by reporters.
The British woman had earlier pointed to her cheeks in court, indicating that she and her compatriot had kissed on the cheeks and not on the lips in the restaurant in Jumeirah Beach Residence (JBR).
"We greeted each other and kissed on the cheeks," she said.
The 24-year-old told Presiding Judge Fouad that they kissed on the cheeks in a "welcome and greeting manner".
The lawyer defended that his clients did not kiss on the lips but on their cheeks without having any criminal intention.
"The defendants willingly admitted that they kissed in a welcoming and greeting manner. They kissed on the cheeks without having any intention to break the law.
"It's something in their culture to kiss on the cheeks as a greeting.
"The Emirati woman, who claimed she saw them kissing on the lips, gave an inconsistent statement. Her statement to the police contradicted the one she gave to prosecutors," said Al Hosani.
Sunday's judgment is still subject to appeal before Cassation Court within 30 days.
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