Dubai: A man who was found guilty of blasphemy and threatening to dishonour a married woman on WhatsApp has taken his case to the appeal court.
The Dubai Court of First Instance earlier sentenced the 25-year-old Syrian man, M.W., to six months in jail to be followed by deportation. The man dated the married woman for a while and took pictures of her during their chats.
He was found guilty of threatening to publish indecent photos of the woman via WhatsApp and another website if she did not continue dating him.
Records said the married woman was having marital problems when she met M.W. online.
According to the ruling the defendant was found guilty of forwarding blasphemous messages to the woman’s mobile phone and in which he cursed God. The defendant is scheduled to appear before Dubai Appeal Court next month.
Sources close to the case said the defendant plans to prove the case was brought on malicious grounds.
A policewoman cited the woman admitting that she met a person who claimed to be Lebanese in a chat room.
“When I questioned the woman, she claimed to me that she got acquainted with the defendant [who had claimed to be called R.] four years before the incident. They communicated on WhatsApp and Tango. She also alleged that the defendant [supposedly R.] used to take snapshots of her during their chats and without her knowledge or consent. The claimant also alleged that the man hacked into her laptop and stole her private photos and videos. When the woman patched things up with her husband, she informed R. that she wanted to end their relationship.
“Thereafter, he was outraged and threatened her, she claimed. She also alleged that he called her family and friends and claimed that they were having an affair,” said the policewoman.
Records said the married woman told her husband and they reported the matter to the police.
