Eco-advocate acquitted of posting snap sans consent

abu dhabi — A Bulgarian expat, who was fined Dh150,000 for taking a picture of a woman on a public beach in Abu Dhabi and posting the photo on social media without her consent, has been cleared on appeal.

Court documents stated that the expat woman, who is an environmentalist, had taken the picture to use it in urging volunteers to join her in her beach clean-up campaign. She posted the photo on a website.

The husband of the woman in the picture, upon seeing the image of his wife, filed a complaint against the Bulgarian.

The man said in his complaint that the accused woman had illegally taken the picture of his wife and also published it online without her permission or knowledge, an act that violates the UAE laws.

Prosecutors charged the woman for illegally taking the picture of people on the public beach and posting it online.

The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance had earlier found the Bulgarian woman guilty of violating laws that prohibit taking and publishing pictures of people without their consent and ordered her to pay the hefty fine.

The woman, however, challenged the ruling at the Abu Dhabi Appeal Court, which cancelled the decision on Tuesday, finding the woman innocent.

The Bulgarian had told the court that she is an environmentalist and she has been organising campaigns to help clean up beaches for more than seven years.

She said she took the photo of the beach and posted it online to invite her volunteer friends for a beach clean-up campaign.

Her lawyer Hassan Al Riyami said his client had received several awards for her volunteering work and had no ill intentions in taking the photo. “My client is working on raising environmental awareness . ... I believe she must be honoured for her great work.” He had requested court to clear his client or be lenient on the woman because she is currently unemployed without any source of income.