Saddam Hussain on pornography charge in Dubai court

DUBAI // A Dubai court has found Saddam Hussain guilty of distributing pornography in the Emirates.

The Dubai Court of Misdemeanours today sentenced a 26-year-old Bangladeshi namesake of the deceased Iraqi leader to two months in prison for possessing and selling pornographic DVDs.

Saddam Hussain Fadl Al Hak, a construction worker, had denied the offence when arrested in Jebel Ali on January 29.

"I'm not guilty and these CDs are not mine," he told the police officers who arrested him.

One of those officers, 27-year-old MA, testified that he was on patrol with his colleague when they received a tip-off that a number of Asian men were selling pornographic DVDs near the Grand City Mall at the Jebel Ali Industrial Area.

"When we arrived we saw the defendant showing the DVDs to buyers," MA said.

Mr Al Hak claimed that he had bought two Bangladeshi films at the Souq Al Madina Supermarket, and that "they weren't pornographic".

However, prosecutors told the court that officers found 218 pornographic DVDs in his possession.

He claimed those DVDs belonged to another Bangladeshi man.

"I have no criminal record," Mr Al Hak told prosecutors.

Mr Al Hak will be deported after serving his prison term at the Dubai Central Jail.

salamir@thenational.ae