ABU DHABI // A woman whose husband got her drunk and took pictures of her having sex with another woman has been cleared on appeal of lesbianism and encouraging indecency.
The Arab woman's ex-husband filed a lawsuit against her claiming she had admitted cheating on him with another man.
He included in the lawsuit links to online photos and videos of her naked and engaging in sexual activities, including some with another women.
The woman insisted her husband had forced her to get drunk, after which he took the photos and video and posted them online.
In a previous hearing she said she was afraid of her husband. "He said I want to keep those photos for me so I can look at you," she explained.
She was initially found guilty of consensual sex with an unknown woman, and encouraging indecency by taking photos of herself naked, with the criminal court being unconvinced any of it had been against her will.
It gave her a suspended four-month sentence and ordered her to pay Dh10,000 in compensation to her ex-husband.
The appeals court ordered tests on the photos, and found that while some were fake, at least three were authentic. On that basis it upheld the conviction.
But the court of cassation rejected that ruling, ruling that the required photos and video had been taken illegally. It sent the case back to appeal to be heard by a different panel of judges.
The new appeals court took account of the cassation court's ruling that the evidence was legally invalid and acquitted.
The personal affairs court had already granted the couple a divorce, giving the woman custody of their children.
It ignored her ex-husband's claims that her conviction over the photos made her an inadequate guardian.
hdajani@thenational.ae
