Emirati Couple To Spend 1 Month In Jail For Kissing

Dubai has nothing better to do than jail couples for kissing. Some man who must have been peeking inside a dark-tinted car, claimed to have witnessed a 32-year-old Emirati banker and her 19-year-old colleague kissing, he then ran off to report the alleged activity to the police.

They will have to spend one month in jail.

Story here.

Of course it's not the first time someone has been jailed in Dubai for kissing. Back in 2010, a 26-year-old British woman, Charlotte Adams, spent 23 days in jail for what she claims was a mere peck on the cheek (and I believe her). She was finally allowed home after a harrowing time in a Dubai jail with murderers and prostitutes. Adams did admit she flirted with 25-year-old British ex-pat Ayman Najafi, but insists she just gave him "a peck on the cheek". In fact, she had some harsh words for fellow Brits Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors who were arrested and jailed for having sex on the beach, back in 2008.

"I thought they were stupid to behave like that in a Muslim city. Everyone was affected by what it meant. You'd have been stupid to ignore it," she said.

But she denies that her conduct with Mr Najafi compared to that of Miss Palmer and Mr Acors. "I may have pecked him on the cheek at one point but we weren't drunk and I would never have snogged someone in the middle of a crowded restaurant – especially in Dubai," she told The Mail on Sunday.

Apparently she was very fond of Dubai- although I have no idea why- and said she would miss it, though she was relieved to be home. The tattle-tale 38-year-old woman in the restaurant who reported the couple to the police told two very different stories

"She told the police that she saw them kissing, while she told the prosecution that her children saw them," he said, adding the defense is arguing that the couple only kissed on the cheek "as a greeting" which is allowed.

Didn't seem to make a difference. They were also charged with drinking alcohol, to which they pleaded guilty, and Charlotte was fined £200, and then deported. She's not allowed to return.

I wouldn't be caught dead in Dubai, not because I'd have a problem sticking to their strict religious laws, I don't drink so no biggy; I would never visit on principle. 

UPDATE: Woman Fired - Drunk Couple In Dubai Accused Of Having Sex In Taxi

A foreign couple in Dubai were allegedly caught having sex in the back seat of a taxi, but were they really going at it? One can never tell when dealing with Emiratis. They find any public displays of affection offensive, and an innocuous peck on the cheek can actually land a couple in prison. In 2010, expats 24-year-old Ayman Najafi and 25-year-old Charlotte Adams found themselves spending a month in jail, fined £200 for drinking alcohol, and then deported to England after a woman snitched on them to the police. Apparently, her very young son  had seen the couple "kissing" in a restaurant where they were all eating, and that was enough to send them to jail.

This latest couple was also drunk, but deny they were having sex. The Irish man and British woman identified only as C.M. and R.B. (27) were in a taxi driven by an Asian man, but whether the driver snitched on them or they were pulled over by a policeman that "saw" what they were doing has not been determined yet.  The couple are being investigated and face charges of consuming alcohol, consensual sex, and public indecency- all no-nos in Dubai.

"C.M. and R.B. were boozed up when they were reported to a nearby police patrol that they indulged in sexual activity in the taxi's rear seat in an area close to Dubai Marina," a source told Gulf News.

According to primary police interrogations, the arresting police officer alleged that the woman was not wearing a shirt when he arrested the couple.

"Meanwhile C.M. countered those claims, according to his statement, contending that R.B. is his fiancée and that she was sad when he hugged her only."

"They couple deny involving in any form of sexual intimacy or public indecency."

The source added: "The suspects were said to have been sitting behind the driver's seat.

"It took nearly two minutes from the point where the taxi picked them up till the point where the police patrol stopped them.

"It would have been impossible for the woman to have taken off her shirt and initiated a sexual activity within a time span of two minutes.

"They admitted that they consumed alcohol… but they remained dressed and were not caught naked or involved in any form of sexual interaction."

It's quite obvious where the United Arab Emirates (UAE) stand on public displays of affection, but the whole alcohol issue is very confusing considering it is allowed for non-Muslims.  So why couples are being fined for consuming liquour like Najafi and Adams, or facing charges like the Irish and Brit couple is baffling.

As for the couple's alleged sexual activity, a  prosecution source told Gulf News,

"We are still waiting for forensic reports to prove whether the couple had sex or indulged in any form of sexual activity."

"On May 30, the investigating prosecutor will hear the statements of the Asian driver, Q.K., who is believed to have reported the incident, and the arresting officer.

"The suspects were released on bail after spending five days in detention in Jebel Ali police station."

The incident happened some time after midnight. It could not be confirmed whether the driver reported the matter or whether police officers on patrol spotted the couple engaged in an indecent act.

"Apparently DNA and forensic tests seem to be negative so far," the source said.

I'm not sure I even want to know what forensic exams they performed on the couple.

It's still my contention that you have to be pretty stupid, or pretty drunk, to break UAE laws, and even more stupid for going to Dubai in the first place. Far too many restrictions that can land you in jail, fined or both. Including bad language. No thank you!

UPDATE 5/28/12:

They've now identified the couple: 29-year-old Rebecca Blake and Conor McRedmond. Since the initial report, Rebecca has been fired from her cushy £100,000 per annum job, and now admits she had been on an all day drinking binge. Though she still contends she did not have sex in the taxi, she claims everything that day was a "blur."   Apparently she started off her day at the Rotana Hotel at midday for its "all you can drink" brunch. Yes, instead of an "all you can eat" buffet, there is a hotel in a Muslim country (that will jail you for being drunk) that serves alcohol instead. Rebecca continued drinking throughout the day and into the evening.  The alleged "deed" occurred when Conor and Rebecca decided to head home.   She also complained about cockroaches biting her during her 5 day prison stay.

This latest news about the incident is a game changer. She does not have my sympathies.  First of all, if most of the day is a blur, then in her drunken stupor she very well could have been going at it with Conor in the back seat of that taxi. And living in that country, she should have known what the consequences of being caught would be.  Same goes for spending the whole day drinking. Though jailing someone for being drunk or having sex outside of marriage is outrageous, it is their country and their rules. 

I still wouldn't recommend going there.