Raffi Nernekian, a Lebanese immigrant has finally been released from a Dubai prison after serving a month sentence for wearing a obscene shirt in public, according to reports from United Arab Emirates.
The official press release says
“Mr Nernekian was subsequently jailed for offending public decency for a month, a sentence upheld on appeal. He will be deported after serving his sentence, even though he has lived in the city for five years.”
According to U.A.E reports, Nernekian was confronted by a Dubai resident at a local bakery about his shirt. Tempers flared but Nernekian conceded and returned home to change his t-shirts. When Nernekian returned to the bakery, the police were waiting for him.
He was imprisoned for a month AND will be deported from Dubai shortly, even though he has been a class A immigrant for five years. Sounds crazy but the moral code under the U.A.E. is strict and if crossed the repercussions can be brutal with little room for appeal. Clothing cannot be obscene, transparent, have offensive slogans or pictures or indecently expose body parts. While the U.A.E. does have a very large influx of foreign travelers for both recreation and business, many tourist forget that this is a country with very stringent laws and they will not allow outsiders to escape their penalties.
I have compelled some of the more interesting arrest on tourist/immigrants under the U.A.E. rule:
- Cat Le-Huy was arrested in Dubai for carrying melatonin and imprisoned for 3 months without any formal trial or sentencing.
- A Swiss man is serving a four-year jail term after three poppy seeds from a bread roll he ate at Heathrow airport were found on his clothes.
- A American business woman and mother of three was arrested, strip searched, and jailed for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks near Riduyah.
- A Englishman, who came under suspicion after officials were alerted of a substance under his shoe(A cigarette stuck to his shoe) was sentenced to four years in prison for possession of 0.003g of cannabis, which I would imagine is a microscopic amount(or a dub in NYC).
Make sure to keep up with the rules while your traveling this summer.
(Still got a few airline codes valid for discounts; Delta and Continental Airlines.. .)
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