Dubai visitor escapes jail in Facebook photo threat

Dubai: A visitor has won a suspended imprisonment after he obtained a waiver from his ex-fiancé whom he was accused of threatening to publish her naked photos on Facebook.

The 26-year-old Syrian visitor, M.Z., had denied the charges of threatening to publish the naked photos of his 21-year-old countrywoman, B.S., on Facebook and attempting to extort Dh15,000 from her.

The defendant entered an innocent plea when he defended himself before the Dubai Court of First Instance earlier this month.

“I obtained the photos when we were engaged. She lodged this case malevolently against me because she wanted to ruin my life after I got engaged to another girl. She dropped her complaint and granted me a waiver immediately after the police arrested me in a sting operation,” M.Z. argued in court.

Presiding judge Ali Attiyah Sa’ad handed the defendant a one-year suspended imprisonment.

“The woman’s photos will be erased from all the devices that were seized by the police. The defendant will be deported,” said presiding judge Sa’ad. According to Monday’s judgment, the defendant was granted a lenient punishment after B.S. dropped her complaint.

Prosecutors said M.Z. threatened to dishonour B.S. by publishing her photos on the social media network in case she did not pay him Dh15,000.

“That is a big lie. She was my fiancé for three years. We broke up our engagement due to family reasons and religious differences. I got engaged to another girl and came here looking for a better opportunity considering the situation in Syria. When she knew that I got engaged, she followed me here and fabricated this case out of malice,” M.Z. told the court.

When judge Sa’ad asked the defendant about how he obtained B.S.’s naked photos, the visitor replied: “I got those photos because we remained engaged for nearly three years in Syria.

“She got my contact number through a friend. She threatened to disgrace me and my family. She is the one who stalked me actually. She sought revenge because I got engaged to another girl.”

B.S. testified that on March 15, the defendant threatened to publish her pictures if she refused to pay him.

“He got those photos while we were engaged. I informed the police and cooperated with them to lure him to a coffee shop at International City where he was arrested during a sting operation. As part of the sting operation, I took money from the police and paid him to give me back a memory stick that contained the photos,” B.S. claimed.

M.Z. claimed to the judge that he confessed to police under coercion.

He submitted a written defence in which he stated that B.S. began communicating with him once he came to Dubai. He said B.S. added him on Facebook although he had established a new account to avoid her since he got engaged. He said a common friend gave B.S. his new account details.

Monday’s judgment remains subject to appeal within 15 days.