By Paul Ward
CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to appeal after a Scots electrician was jailed for three months in Dubai for touching a man’s hip in a bar.
Jamie Harron, from Stirling, was arrested in July over the incident and had his British passport confiscated by the authorities.
He claimed he had touched the man’s hip in a bid to avoid spilling a drink in a crowded bar.
Mr Harron, 27, was sentenced after he appeared in court on a “public indecency” charge yesterday.
Detained in Dubai (DiD), which has been campaigning on his behalf, said he was “angry, disappointed and dreads what may happen next”.
His lawyers were last night working on the appeal process and Mr Harron remains at liberty until that route is completed. However, he cannot return home without his passport.
Radha Stirling, DiD chief executive, said: “Now Jamie has been sentenced to three months, there is no telling whether a judgment on appeal will be better or worse.
“He has already suffered tremendously as a result of these allegations and now faces the likelihood of incarceration.
“His family was unable to visit him during this critical time because they faced a very real risk of imprisonment themselves under the UAE’s cyber crime laws, which forbid criticism of the government.
“At this point, Jamie will definitely be pursuing civil action against his accusers when he does eventually return home, as it appears that he will not be able to find justice in the UAE.”
She added: “He feels betrayed and exploited by the system, which did not investigate the reports of key witnesses in his defence and led him to believe that the case would be dropped.”
Mr Harron had been working in Afghanistan and was on a two-day stopover in the United Arab Emirates at the time.
After his arrest for public indecency, he lost his job and was told he could have faced up to three years in jail.
Mr Harron has already been sentenced in absentia to 30 days in prison for failing to appear at a court hearing for making a rude gesture and drinking alcohol during the same July incident.
Campaigners at DiD said he was not told about the court date in advance and that sentence is also being appealed against.
In relation to the alleged public indecency charge, Mr Harron is said to have been holding a drink as he moved through a crowded bar and held a hand in front of him to avoid spilling it on himself or others.
He then “touched a man on his hip to avoid impact’’.
Mr Harron was initially jailed for five days and then released on bail, with his passport confiscated.
The man later dropped his complaint after discovering Harron was facing a lengthy prison sentence.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We have been in contact with a British man following his arrest in Dubai in July. We are providing consular assistance.”
Mr Harron, who has had to pay tens of thousands of pounds in expenses and legal fees, has described his ordeal as “just unbelievable” and admitted he is “still in shock”.
Ms Stirling has claimed “it’s a sport to have someone locked up for a few days” in Dubai.
She added that some locals even use the law “for vindication if they feel offended by someone”.
In Dubai, it is illegal to drink or be drunk in public, swear or make rude gestures, kiss in public, cross-dress, have sex outside marriage or share a hotel room with someone you’re not married to. Homosexuality is completely banned.
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