Man fined in Dubai for threatening brother-in-law with indecent pictures from Facebook chat

Dubai: A Dubai-based expatriate has been blackmailed by his brother-in-law, with threats of publishing screenshots of his indecent chats with a stranger woman on Facebook.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard that the defendant threatened to send the screenshots to his sister-in-law’s workplace — a school — and also publish them online in an attempt to defame him over family disputes.

The defendant’s sister had recorded the indecent chats and sent them to her brother. The woman’s husband said he already had an ongoing case in court with his wife.

“I received WhatsApp messages from him, including pictures of chats between me and a woman on Facebook. He threatened to send those pictures to my director and relatives in our home country,” said the husband on record. He said his wife had taken pictures of the chats and sent them to her brother.

The defendant has been arrested and referred to Dubai Public Prosecution. During interrogation, he admitted to threatening and blackmailing his brother-in-law.

The Dubai Court of First Instance initially ordered the defendant to pay a fine of Dh3,000. He appealed the fine, claiming that the victim had fabricated the charges due to family disputes. Dubai Court of Appeals later reduced the fine to Dh2,000.

According to records, the judges said in the final draft of the verdict that a ‘threat’ in law means annoying or terrifying someone of hazard or danger and doesn’t need to include a request. “The defendant is guilty of threatening the victim by using technological means. The defendant admitted to the crime during investigation by the Public Prosecution,” the judges said on record.