Press Association

Press Association

Press Association

 
Briton facing jail in Dubai accused of kissing a woman in public to appeal

UK couple facing jail for kissing

A British couple are appealing against a jail sentence after being accused of sharing a passionate kiss in a Dubai restaurant.

Cosmopolitan Dubai has the most lenient social codes in the Gulf, but authorities can still crack down on people charged with pushing the limits.

Ayman Najifi, a Briton working in Dubai, and a female tourist were arrested in November after a complaint about public kissing.

They were convicted of inappropriate behaviour and other charges, earning them a month in jail.

The couple said it was just a "peck on the cheek".

A court has set the appeal for April 4.

In 2008, two Britons were sentenced to three months in jail for what authorities described as sex on the beach. The sentences were suspended.

Latest news

  • Eurozone demands more Greece cuts

    Protesters shout slogans during a protest in Athens over the latest austerity plan for Greece (AP)
    Just hours after Greece gave in to painful new job and spending cuts, European ministers have declared that Athens did not go far enough and demanded more within a week in exchange for a 130 billion euro bailout to stave off bankruptcy.
  • Lord Prescott to seek police role

    Former deputy prime minister Lord Prescott will stand as a police and crime commissioner candidate in Humberside
    Lord Prescott will run to be elected as one of the UK's first Police and Crime Commissioners, he has announced.