British pair appeal against jail sentence in Dubai for kissing

A British man and woman convicted of violating the decency laws in Dubai by kissing on the lips must wait until April to find out if they are to be jailed for the offense.

Ayman Najafi, 24, and Charlotte Adams, 25, were arrested last November in Dubai after a 38-year-old local woman complained to the authorities that her daughter had witnessed them kissing on the lips in a restaurant. According to the Telegraph the woman said in her statement that she too had seen them kiss in that manner as well as touch each other in an intimate way. Last week a court convicted Mr Najafi, who works in Dubai for the U.S.-headquartered Hay Group, and Ms Adams (staying with a friend in the emirate at the time of the offense) of kissing in the manner described by the local woman. However the pair, reportedly not boyfriend and girlfriend, claim that the kisses they exchanged were only on the cheek. But they did admit to the consumption of alcohol, for which they were fined 1,000 dirhams (£180, $270). Reports are slightly contradictory with regard to the alcohol-related offense. The Telegraph reported that the pair were convicted for having been out in public after consuming alcohol in a place where its consumption is permitted, namely a licensed bar or restaurant. Meanwhile the London Times and Gulf News suggest that the fine was imposed merely for the consumption of alcohol in the restaurant where the kissing offense took place. Advice issued by the U.S. Department of State for travelers to Dubai indicates that personal liquor licenses issued by the emirate's Ministry of Interior are required for those drinking alcohol, they must be non-Muslims, in the bars and restaurants of hotels at which they are not guests. Further explanation is available at Anadubawi The London Times notes that bars may also be found in shopping malls. But it is the jail sentence of one month, to be followed by deportation, handed down for kissing that prompted the appearance of the two Britons before three judges at the Dubai Appeals Court on Sunday. In court Mr Najafi, like Ms Adams from North London, insisted that no inappropriate behavior had occurred at the restaurant, Bob's Easy Diner in the Jumeirah Beach Residence, on November 27 last year. And Ms Adams is said to have pointed to her cheek in court, seemingly to emphasize the defense being offered by herself and Mr Najafi. Representing the Britons lawyer Khalaf Al Hosani spoke of having witnesses prepared to support the accounts of his clients and the Gulf News quotes him as saying in the court on Sunday:

Your honor, my clients willingly admitted that they kissed in a welcoming and greeting manner. They kissed on the cheeks without having any intention to break the law. It’s something in their culture to kiss on cheeks as a greeting. The Emirati woman, who claimed she saw them kissing on the lips, gave an inconsistent statement. Her statement at the police contradicted the one she gave to prosecutors.

Eventually my clients were detained after the Emirati woman claimed she saw them in an indecent, intimate situation… the claimant told the police that she saw them lip-kissing. Later she altered her statement and told prosecutors that her children saw the suspects. We pointed out to the Public Prosecution that she gave a contradicting statement. Prosecutors could not reach her to come and give a second statement because her number was disconnected. Thereafter, the prosecutor referred my clients to court

Released on bail until the Appeals Court announces its decision on April 4 Mr Najafi and Ms Adams will be unable to leave Dubai as their passports have been taken from them. Other high profile cases in recent years involving Britons violating or allegedly violating the decency laws in Dubai saw one couple accused of having sex on the beach in 2008 and another couple accused, and subsequently cleared, earlier this year of having sex outside marriage. Both cases also involved alcohol, with the latter case seeing the woman, a Muslim, alleging that she was raped by a hotel employee.