British Man Jailed In Dubai For Touching Another Man's Hip Freed After Emirate's Ruler Intervenes

A British man who was sentenced to three months' imprisonment in Dubai for touching another man's hip has today had the charges against him dropped.Jamie Harron, 27, from Stirling, was sentenced in his absence for public indecency in the Middle Eastern country yesterday.

The electrician had been working in Afghanistan and was on a two-day stopover in the United Arab Emirates when he was arrested in July.

He said he put his hand on businessman Emad Tabaza's hip to avoid spilling a drink in a crowded bar. His accuser dropped the complaint, but local prosecutors decided to proceed with the case.


Now the vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has exonerated Harron, according to the group Detained in Dubai.

Harron is now free to leave the country after having his passport returned, they added.

Radha Stirling, who works for Detained in Dubai, said: 'The cases against him have been dismissed, and the sentence imposed by the court yesterday has been nullified.

'We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed for his personal intervention in this case, and for exonerating Jamie at long last.