British Woman Faces Dubai Jail Over Facebook Insult

[naomi24]

Laleh Shahravesh, 55, was arrested at a Dubai airport after flying there to attend her former husband's funeral. He was Portuguese, his new wife, Tunisian.

The British woman faces prosecution over two Facebook comments she posted in the UK on pictures of her husband remarrying in 2016.

Under the UAE's cyber-crime laws, a person can be jailed or fined for making defamatory statements on social media.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47847740

Far reaching laws. Should our Foreign Office advise those contemplating travel to Dubai to check social media accounts before booking flights?

[aelmpvw]

several abers have cancelled their dubai holidays

[JJ109]

I am not exactly sure of the law but although normally a civil offence, isn't libel sometimes a criminal offence in the UK also!

[dannyk13]

jj repealed in 2010

[JJ109]

That's a shame!

[Old_Geezer]

The country seems not to understand that defamatory statements need to be at a certain level before the law intervenes as otherwise it is simply a mockery of a reasonable legal system. No State can surely want to gaol someone for telling another they are a horse. Common sense should have prevailed.

[JJ109]

If you were in India and called someone a cow, would that be considered praise?

[Deskdiary]

Dubai markets itself as a holiday destination, and yet how many times have we heard of people getting into hot water over something that is trivial.

Frankly anybody who chooses to go on holiday to these places wants their heads examined. I wouldn't go to Dubai if the holiday was free.

[naomi24]

JJ109, //If you were in India and called someone a cow, would that be considered praise? //

This woman wasn't in Dubai when she posted the comment three years ago. She was in the UK.

[douglas9401]

They've obviously solved all the problems a country could ever have and so now are righting wrongs internationally.

Y'know, like Superman.

[JJ109]

Naomi - I believe that Dubai is OTT with this, and I am not going to defend Dubai, but at the same time I have no sympathy what-so-ever for this woman.

She deliberately made derogatory statements and placed it on facebook where she hoped many other people would see it and it could cause embarrassment to the new wife. There is no reason for posting it otherwise. She is a nasty piece of work ( a woman scorned etc) and I presume she hasn't apologised to the new wife. OK she now has her come-uppance, too severe in my mind, but neverthe less if she did not post this derogatory and unjustified comment then nothing would have happened.

Dubai or UK is irrelevant, facebook is global and the post reached Dubai, where it was seen.

You post things on facebook at your own risk

[ummmm]

Crazy!

I agree with deskdiary. I would never go to a country like Dubai.

[ummmm]

JJ...are you serious?

[-Talbot-]

No sympathy for someone getting 2 years in jail in a foreign country for typing suggesting someone is a 'horse'...and I thought I had a heart of stone, jj.

It's *** madness.

[naomi24]

I think he is serious, ummmm.

JJ109, it sounds very much like you’re defending Dubai. The question is should Dubai apply its laws to visitors who have committed no ‘crime’ in Dubai?

[douglas9401]

I'd be careful of commenting further, especially regarding the law in Dubai.
There may even as I type be a request for extradition of disrespectful Answerbankers to face the wrath of Arfabian justice.

You wouldn't want to end up looking like a horses ass.

[spathiphyllum]

I just don't see why anyone would want to go to Dubai anyway.

It's a desert city built on gold, oil and twisted ideology.

[spathiphyllum]

Much like the UK wish to, Dubai can implement laws as they wish. Enter at your own liability

[Peter Pedant]

Arabic - inta ghansir ( are you a leedol peeg?) is frequently used to children misbehaving

[Peter Pedant]

// Should our Foreign Office advise those contemplating travel to Dubai to check social media accounts before booking flights? //

or sshould they go further and say
dont post anything on a s-m acct you may later regret ....

( along with dont take tramadol to Egypt for your boyfriend - or dont organise unions in Iran) Abroad is so very very difficult for us Brexit Brits.....

[Prudie]

It's very mild in comparison with what a lot of UK post on FB. I see this as the new wife causing problems, what a cow she is..