A 28-year-old Russian female, who visited Dubai on a tourist visa, and a 30-year-old male citizen of Lebanon, a salesman in a local store, were put on trial for drinking juice in a public place in the daytime during Muslim fasting.
The police caught the two people red-handed at a gas station in Dubai, Emirat.ru reports with reference to Gulf News.
In accordance with the Federal Penal Code of the United Arab Emirates, a public intake of food and beverages during daytime hours of the month of Ramadan is forbidden by Article 313. The article stipulates the punishment in the form of either a monetary penalty – up to 2,000 dirhems ($555) – or even a term of up to one month in prison.
The young people told the court that they were not Muslims and were thus unaware of the fact that their actions could be punishable.
The court took the mitigating circumstances into consideration, but found the defendants guilty, since ignorance did not exclude responsibility. The court ruled that the young people must pay the fine of 1,000 dirhems ($278) each.
The case became the first one in Dubai in violation of Article 313 since the beginning of the month of Ramadan on September 1.
Thousands of foreigners from Europe and Asia reside in the emirate of Dubai, the major tourist center of the Persian Gulf . Dubai is known as a relatively liberal region in comparison with other territories of the UAE. Tourists can be seen in the streets wearing shorts, whereas alcoholic beverages can often be available in bars and hotels.
This year, however, the authorities intend to remind all residents and guests of the emirate that they are staying on the territory of a Muslim country. There have been quite a number of incidents recently when the local police in plain clothes arrested women sunbathing topless, nudists and other violators of public order.
Many tourists acknowledge that that they do not always understand how they should behave in Dubai.
Guide-books advise tourists should always carry their IDs, or better their copies, with them for the majority of police officers wear plain clothes and can be rather meticulous in their inspections.
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OK, This is absolutely fucking ridiculous. I can understand stopping public nudity and consumption of alcohol in public (ie, not in a bar), but arresting and convicting tourists of drinking a glass of juice in public is fucking ridiculous and further makes me thing this world has gone to hell.
Dubai, who is rapidly running out of oil and is trying to build a niche as the Bahamas of the Arab world as a destination hotspot and playground for the rich and famous, and is trying to market itself as one of the more liberal muslim destinations pulls this shit?
I agree that in most cases that ignorance of the law is no excuse, but this is just fucking stupid. I would feel intensely happy if shit likes this causes tourists to shun Dubai and their economy collapses.
Am I the only one who gets outraged at this shit? Or am I just getting bitter and racist in my old age?