Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) yesterday submitted documentary evidence at the Dubai Court of First Instance in its case against a young Briton accused of hacking into the Internet system.

The case against 21-year-old Lee Ashurst was then adjourned until May 27 to allow his lawyers time to study the evidence and prepare their defence. Ashurst denies damaging Etisalat's Internet system between May 16 and June 14 last year when the system ground to a virtual halt.

He is accused of using the Internet for illegal purposes under Article No. 46/b of Federal Law No 1 of 1990 and Article 380 of Federal Penalty Law No 3 of 1987 which covers the opening of other people's mail.

The Public Prosecutor alleges that Ashurst used hacking programmes on his laptop computer to decipher passwords of Etisalat employees and enter sites forbidden to network users. It also claims that he copied the password file of Etisalat's managers, some employee files and opened employee e-mails by deciphering their passwords and copying them onto his computer.

Ashurst, who worked as a computer engineer at a Dubai construction company before his arrest on June 14, allegedly admitted hacking into the system to the police and the Public Prosecutor, but said he was unaware what he was doing was illegal.