Two men jailed for kissing in public

An appeals court in Abu Dhabi upheld a previous court verdict and sentenced a European and an Asian man to six months in prison and ordered their deportation after they were convicted of kissing each other on the mouth in a public place, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

The court supported the previous sentence after a witness confirmed again that he saw them hugging and kissing each other on the mouth in a street in Abu Dhabi, the Arabic language daily Alittihad said.

The two unnamed defendants again told court they were hugging each other while the European said he kissed his friend on the head as he was leaving the UAE.

Their defence lawyer asked court to acquit them on the grounds the witness gave contradicting statements.

The paper said a man who happened to be driving in the area saw the two hugging and kissing each other on the mouth.

He told court that he was not first sure of what he had seen so he turned back and saw them kissing again.

“The court sentenced them to six months in jail and ordered their deportation after serving their prison terms….they two were charged with committing an indecent act in a public place,” it said.

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