British pair face jail for kissing in Dubai restaurant

[AtW]

A British couple have been told they must wait a further month to find out if they must serve a month in prison for publicly kissing in a Dubai restaurant.

Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expat in Dubai, and Charlotte Lewis, 25, a tourist, have been accused of breaching strict public decency laws at the fashionable Jumeirah Beach Residence in the Muslim emirate.

The pair had their passports confiscated after their arrest in November, and attended court today to appeal against the prison sentence imposed last week.

Khalaf al-Hosani, a lawyer, told the AFP news agency today that they are accused of “committing a sexual act (by) kissing on the lips and touching”.

They are also accused of consuming alcohol, a charge to which they pleaded guilty, but said they only kissed on the cheek. The Misdemeanours Appeals Court ruled that it would reach a final verdict on April 4, Mr al-Hosani added.

In a phone call to his distraught mother yesterday, Mr Najafi said: “I haven’t done anything wrong mum, hopefully I will clear my name and then I can come back.”

The pair were allegedly seen kissing on the mouth in a restaurant, breaching Dubai’s conservative penal code.

(AtW's comment: infidels, how dare they do it! )

More of the insanity here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle7061449.ece

[centurian]

In a phone call to his distraught mother yesterday, Mr Najafi said: “I haven’t done anything wrong mum, hopefully I will clear my name and then I can come back.”

If what they did was against the law, then he has... however the full article seems to indicate that he believes he stayed on the right side of the law.

[TimberWolf]

About time they implemented zero tolerance here too. You decadent infidels.

[AtW]

About time they implemented zero tolerance here too. You decadent infidels.

kissing in public, especially on the cheeks

[TinTrump]

Unfortunate but I don't think you can call it "insanity" because the mores and laws in Dubai are different to ours. I spent most of last year working in the Middle East and I checked what was acceptable in public. In Bahrain you can drink alcohol but you can't consume it where someone (presumably a muslim) can see you and be offended by it. Restuarants can serve alcohol but it must be out of view of people outside i.e. the windows are covered etc. Once inside consent is assumed. As for public displays of affection, a non-starter unless you want to risk arrest. Not a shock observation but perhaps the alcohol effected their judgement?

[TimberWolf]

What's the crime rate in Dubai? And how many chavs are there?

[AtW]

Not a shock observation but perhaps the alcohol effected their judgement?

You mean lack of alcohol?

[AtW]

What's the crime rate in Dubai?

It's terrible apparently: 15 kisses in public last year alone.

[EternalOptimist]

It's terrible apparently: 15 kisses in public last year alone.

AtW , as much as it pains me,
and it pains me a lot, believe me,

that deserves a

[AtW]

AtW , as much as it pains me,
and it pains me a lot, believe me,

that deserves a