Britons sentenced to a month in prison for kissing in Dubai restaurant

Ayman Najafi, 24, a marketing consultant who lives in Dubai, and Charlotte Adams, 25, an estate agent from North London, were said to have been touching each other and kissing passionately as they dined with friends in a beachfront restaurant.

They were arrested and sentenced to a month in prison after which they were told they would be deported.

But the pair told a hearing at the Dubai Appeal Court on Sunday that they were the victims of a "huge misunderstanding" and had simply exchanged a friendly greeting.

"We kissed each other on the cheek as a greeting, nothing more,” Mr Najafi told Judge Aysar Fouad. Miss Adams pointed at her cheek to show where contact had taken place.

The two are not the first Britons to fall foul of the strict laws in the conservative Muslim state. Last year Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vince Acors, 34, were sentenced to three months imprisonment for having sex on a beach.

The latest incident took place when Miss Adams and Mr Najafi met along with four other friends for dinner at Bob's Easy Diner on the beachfront at the Jumeirah Beach Residence complex on November 27.

The police were called at around 2am by an Emirati woman sitting at a nearby table with her children and claimed her daughter had been upset by the display of affection.

"My daughter told me that the accused were kissing on the mouth,” she said.

“Then I spotted them doing so myself. I also saw them touching each other, as they were seated two to three metres away from our table. A number of customers witnessed the scene as well.”

After being arrested, the two were tested for alcohol and shown to have been drinking, though the readings of 22mg/dl are less than the drink-drive limit in Britain.

At the appeal hearing on Sunday, their defence lawyer Khalaf al Hosany said the couple admitted kissing each other on the cheek but denied any intention to break the law.

“It’s part of their culture to kiss on cheeks as a greeting,” he told the judge.

But their pleas of not guilty to indecency were rejected and they were sentenced to a month in prison followed by deportation.

They were also fined 1000 dirham (180 pounds) for being in a public place after consuming alcohol – an offence in Dubai, though drinking alcohol itself is not.

Mr Najafi has lived in Dubai for 18 months, where he works as a consultant for the Hay Group, a marketing firm.

Miss Adams, 25, was visiting the country and staying with another friend.

Her flatmate Jade Christa Williams, acting as a spokesman for Miss Adams, said what had happened was simply "a huge misunderstanding".

"She is completely innocent and is looking forward to coming home soon to carry on with her life and put this behind her," she said.

The pair were released on bail and are awaiting an April 4 verdict.

相關(guān)中文新聞（摘自揚(yáng)子晚報(bào)）

據(jù)英國(guó)媒體15日?qǐng)?bào)道，一對(duì)英國(guó)情侶因在阿聯(lián)酋迪拜一家飯館內(nèi)擁吻，上周被迪拜當(dāng)?shù)胤ㄔ阂孕袨椴划?dāng)罪判處1個(gè)月監(jiān)禁和驅(qū)逐出境。兩位當(dāng)事人對(duì)此判決不服并提出上訴。

24歲的艾曼·納杰菲和25歲的夏洛特·亞當(dāng)斯去年11月27日在迪拜的一家海濱餐廳與朋友聚會(huì)時(shí)親吻對(duì)方，兩人隨后被當(dāng)?shù)匾幻?8歲的女性舉報(bào)。舉報(bào)人稱(chēng)，她和女兒坐在旁邊的桌子上，看到這對(duì)情侶擁抱接吻、互相撫摸。她女兒對(duì)眼前的場(chǎng)景感到十分不安。

但艾曼和夏洛特堅(jiān)稱(chēng)他們只親吻了對(duì)方的臉頰，沒(méi)有接吻，也沒(méi)有不恰當(dāng)?shù)纳眢w接觸。被逮捕后，二人還因在公共場(chǎng)合飲酒每人被罰款180英鎊。英國(guó)駐迪拜領(lǐng)事館官員表示正在關(guān)注此案，并已為艾曼和夏洛特提供領(lǐng)事幫助。據(jù)悉，艾曼是一家英國(guó)公司駐阿聯(lián)酋的市場(chǎng)營(yíng)銷(xiāo)顧問(wèn)，已經(jīng)在迪拜居住一年半。夏洛特則是一名游客。

另?yè)?jù)英國(guó)媒體報(bào)道，每年約有110萬(wàn)英國(guó)人來(lái)阿聯(lián)酋旅游，而去年有近300名英國(guó)游客在該國(guó)被逮捕或拘留。“接吻事件”發(fā)生后，電視臺(tái)詳細(xì)介紹了游客可能觸犯的阿聯(lián)酋有關(guān)衣著、飲酒方面的法規(guī)，希望游客避免因無(wú)知引來(lái)牢獄之災(zāi)。

春暖花開(kāi) 我們一起從頭學(xué)英語(yǔ)吧！