Jailed Briton hits out at Dubai judicial system

Ayaman Najifi

The north Londoner who recently served a one-month jail term for ‘kissing’ a woman in Dubai, has spoken about his “shock” regarding the entire ordeal.

Ayman Najafi and Charlotte Adams, a fellow Brit, were both jailed earlier this year after being charged with indecent conduct following a complaint made by a Dubai woman.

The incident in question occurred in a restaurant late last year, what Mr Najafi described as a “innocuous peck on the cheek” was interpreted differently by the unnamed woman, she complained to the authorities and Najafi and Miss Adams were subsequently arrested.

Mr Najafi, 24 years of age, had been working as a management consultant in Dubai since August 2008, upon serving his one-month sentence he was deported back to the UK.

He said that the case was unfair, and that the Dubai authorities were uninterested in his side of the story, despite a number of witnesses backing up his claims: “We had four witnesses and everyone knows what happened but they didn't actually want to know what happened. We've spoken to staff that were present that night and they told us that if you did something wrong we would have told you to leave. One of our witnesses is the waitress who served us that night”.

He added that prospective travellers to Dubai should be wary of falling afoul of the law as “the laws have not developed as quickly as the country” adding that the country was “deceptive.”