Acquitted 'obscene caller' to be retried

In a rare case involving mobile phone abuse in the UAE, the country’s top court has ordered a retrial of a man acquitted of charges of using obscene language during a telephone call with another, a newspaper reported on Friday.

The Court of First Instance had first fined the man Dh50,000 in line with UAE laws, which include punishment of people found guilty of using communications means to offend or harass others by jailing them for one year or a Dh50,000 fine.

But Appeals Court annulled that verdict and fined the defendant Dh1,000, prompting the prosecutor to turn to the Federal Supreme Court (FSC).

After hearing the case, the FSC overturned the Appeals Court sentence and ordered a retrial of the defendant on the grounds the court ignored the penalties included in the country’s laws regarding abuse of communication means.

“The FSC found that the defendant committed a crime by using obscene language against another through the telecommunications means provided by etisalat…it ordered a retrial of the man in accordance with the Federal Law 72, which involves one year imprisonment or Dh50,000 fine in such cases,” ‘Emarat Al Youm’ said without mentioning where in the UAE the crime was committed.

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