British pair face jail for kissing in Dubai restaurant

A British couple have been told they must wait a further month to find out if they must serve a month in prison for publicly kissing in a Dubai restaurant.
Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expatriate in Dubai, and Charlotte Lewis, 25, a tourist, have been accused of breaching strict public decency laws at the fashionable Jumeirah Beach Residence in the Muslim emirate.
The pair had their passports confiscated after their arrest in November, and attended court today to appeal against the prison sentence imposed last week.
Khalaf al-Hosani, a lawyer, told the AFP news agency today that they are accused of “committing a sexual act [by] kissing on the lips and touching”. They are also accused of consuming alcohol, a charge to which they pleaded guilty, but said they only kissed on the cheek. The Misdemeanours Appeals Court ruled that it would reach a final verdict on April 4, Mr al-Hosani added.
In a phone call to his mother yesterday, Mr Najafi said he had done nothing wrong.
The pair were allegedly seen kissing on the mouth in a restaurant, breaching Dubai’s conservative penal code. According to reports, a judge heard written evidence from the woman who made the original complaint to police. She said she was offended by their behaviour at the Jumeirah Beach Residence, where she was dining with her daughter.
The judge dismissed Mr Najafi’s claim that he had merely kissed the woman on the cheek and sentenced both defendants to a month in jail followed by deportation.
The Britons have been on bail pending their appeal. The Dubai authorities are holding their passports so that they cannot leave the country. Mr al-Hosani said he told the court that the witness had presented different statements. “She told the police that she saw them kissing, while she told the prosecution that her children saw them,” he said, adding that the defence is arguing that the couple only kissed on the cheek “as a greeting”, which is allowed.
Mr Najafi has been working for Hay Group, the marketing company, in Dubai for about 18 months.
Speaking from the family home in Palmers Green, North London, his mother Maida Najafi said: “My Ayman is a good boy, very wise and mature. I can’t believe it. “He knows the rules over there. He would never do that. He wouldn’t even do it over here. He said, ’I haven’t done anything wrong, Mum. Hopefully I will clear my name and then I can come back’. “He’s an unbelievable young man, strong, hardworking, confident. He is doing so well.”
A Foreign Office spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that a British national was arrested in Dubai on November 27. Consular assistance was provided at the time.” She said she had no further details.
Dubai is a popular destination for British tourists, one of the kingdoms that form part of the United Arab Emirates, home to more than 100,000 British expatriates. The city state adheres to certain strict Islamic rules, and bans sex outside marriage.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/

LWDLIK- I'm betting it wasn't just a kiss on the cheek and that he's of Arab descent.