UAE man, woman jailed for beautifying sinful act

The Asian man and the woman were prosecuted by authorities after they were caught alone in an apartment

A pair that was convicted of beautifying a sinful act, after they were caught alone in a closed place, had their one-month-jail sentence confirmed by UAE's top court.
The Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi upheld earlier rulings by lower courts that handed down the sentences to the Asian man and woman after they were found guilty of beautifying the sin.
Official court documents stated that the Asian man and the woman were prosecuted by authorities after they were caught alone in an apartment located in a northern emirate despite them not being married or related to each other which is against the Sharia law.
Prosecutors had charged them with "beautifying the sin", by staying alone in a closed place without a legal connection between them.
The Court of First Instance had sentenced the pair to three months in jail after they were found guilty of committing the offence. The sentence was however reduced to one month in jail by the Appeal Court. Court also ordered for their deportation.
The Asians went on to challenge the verdict to UAE's top court denying any wrong doing and saying that they were wrongly convicted. The pair told court that there was no evidence to prove that they were alone in an apartment.
The Supreme Court, however, rejected their appeal and convicted them based on the evidence presented by prosecutors which show that they were found alone in the apartment. The pair had also confessed to committing the crime during police interrogation.
The offence of beautifying a sinful action comes from the UAE penal law, section 5, article 312, paragraph 3, under the title, "Crimes that affect religious beliefs and practices".
In Sharia, a woman and an unrelated man being together in a place where no one can see them, has been prohibited because it gives way to suspicion, and temptation to sin, according to court.
ismail@khaleejtimes.com