Woman gets a year in jail for consensual sex

Briton accuses man she met in Dubai of threatening to disrupt impending marriage

Airport and drove to a flat in Sharjah where a Pakistani religious scholar got them married verbally. The woman denied the Pakistani’s marriage claims.

Earlier this year, when the man learnt that the woman was preparing to get married, he began threatening to shame her and reveal to her family that they were married.

In her statement, the woman claimed that when she told the man that she was calling off their three-year relationship, he rejected the idea.

According to the woman’s statement, the man then threatened to publish their photos on Facebook. He also called up the potential husband’s family and told them that the woman was married to him and he has a paper corroborating his claims.

She also claimed that he threatened to kill her if she married someone else and sent their photos to her potential in-laws.

According to records, the woman and her father came to Dubai and lodged a criminal complaint against the man, who was then arrested by Dubai Police. When interrogated, he countered the woman’s threat claims and said she had sent him messages on Facebook requesting him not to divorce her as she was being pressured by her family to keep him out of her life.

The case was referred to the public prosecution. Investigations then revealed that the couple had consensual sex during their meeting in Dubai.

The Dubai Misdemeanours Court sentenced the two to one year each in jail followed by deportation. The defendants appealed the primary judgement before the Appeal Court, seeking leniency.