Dubai court acquits man accused of calling his brother’s wife 'scorpion' on WhatsApp

Dubai’s Court of Appeal has overturned a conviction against an Arab man accused of insulting his sister-in-law on WhatsApp, ruling that the evidence was insufficient and tainted by doubt.

The defendant had been convicted by a court of first instance for allegedly posting offensive phrases on his WhatsApp “status” amid family disputes, including remarks such as “How beautiful life is without my brother’s wife” and “How beautiful homes are without scorpions.”

The complainant argued that the posts amounted to a direct insult that undermined her dignity.

The first-instance court fined the man Dh5,000, ordered the confiscation of his mobile phone, and directed the deletion of the posts. He appealed the ruling, denying authorship and arguing that the alleged images could have been fabricated or manipulated.

Insufficient technical evidence

In its judgment, the appeal court cited an electronic forensic report stating it was impossible to verify the disputed images because WhatsApp status posts disappear automatically after 24 hours. Investigators also found no saved digital content or messages containing the alleged phrases.

The court further noted the existence of prior family disputes between the parties, casting additional doubt on the accusation. It ruled that the evidence presented did not meet the threshold of certainty required for a criminal conviction, leading to the annulment of the earlier judgment and the acquittal of the defendant, in line with the principle that doubt must be resolved in favour of the accused and the presumption of innocence upheld.

Legal insight

Legal representative of the appellant, Counsellor Tareq Derderi, said the ruling reaffirmed that insult is any expression that diminishes a person’s standing but stressed that conviction in such cases depends on solid technical evidence conclusively linking the act to the accused.

He added that a complainant’s statements alone are insufficient to secure a conviction in cybercrime cases, given how easily digital content can be fabricated or tampered with.