Dubai: A student lost his appeal on Wednesday and was fined Dh500,000 for using blasphemous language while stalking a college girl on campus and threatening to have her jailed.
The 23-year-old Jordanian female student was accompanied by her female friend when the 24-year-old Jordanian student started stalking her and following her around the campus in Dubai Academic City in January.
The male student held out his arms wide as he approached the girl in one of the corridors and tried to hug her before she dodged him.
The woman’s friend called her fiance, who rushed to the scene. The fiance and the 24-year-old got into a heated argument before the 24-year-old Jordanian used blasphemous language and threatened to have the 23-year-old woman jailed.
In May, the Dubai Court of First Instance jailed the defendant for three months and handed him a deportation order.
Prosecutors appealed the primary judgement urging the Dubai Appeal Court to fine the defendant for using profane language.
Meanwhile, the accused pleaded with the court to overturn his punishment and acquit him.
On Wednesday, presiding judge Dr Ahmad Hassan dismissed the defendant’s appeal and approved that of the prosecutors.
The appellate court upheld the three-month imprisonment and also fined the defendant Dh500,000 over profanity.
The accused will be deported following the completion of his punishment.
The Jordanian defendant had pleaded not guilty.
“I did not curse God, and she is the one who threatened me,” he contended before the appellate court.
When asked how she threatened him, the defendant said she told him that she would send me to jail and he replied that this was a land of justice and that she was the one who would be jailed.
“I did not threaten her,” he said.
The 23-year-old college girl said the defendant tried to block her way while she was with her Kuwaiti friend on the campus.
“I avoided him and when he tried to hug me. I moved away and prevented him from doing so. My friend called her fiance, who came to the location and spoke to the defendant. Her fiance kept the accused away from me and told him to discuss the issue with him. The 24-year-old was nervous … I heard him cursing God. We all moved out to the parking and tried to resolve the matter amicably before calling the police. The defendant came to me and said that he would have me jailed,” she testified.
The appellate ruling remains subject to appeal before the Cassation Court within 30 days.
