ABU DHABI // A British man accused of running naked on a public beach has pleaded not guilty to violating public decency. GK, a naturalised British citizen of Lebanese decent, appeared before the Abu Dhabi Court of Misdemeanours yesterday. He was accused of running naked on the Ras al Akhdar public beach on June 16. He has been held in jail since then. He told the court his bathing suit fell off while he was swimming. "I reject all this - I did not run naked on the beach," he told the court in Arabic. "My bathing suit just fell down and I immediately put it back on and apologised."According to his lawyer, Faiza Moussa, GK's bathing suit fell off as he was exiting the water. "It happened because the water was moving fast back and forth," said Ms Moussa. "It was not his intent."
Ms Moussa said immediately after the incident GK waved to a man near him on the beach and apologised. "Somebody did not like that and they called the police," said Ms Moussa, adding that her client "told the police and the public prosecutors it was accidental; he did not intend to commit any offence and therefore he should be acquitted". Ms Moussa also requested that her client be granted bail. If convicted, GK could be jailed for up to three months and fined Dh5,000. A representative from the British Embassy was present at the hearing. The judge adjourned the case until Wednesday.
hhassan@thenational.ae
