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A police officer sentenced to one month in jail for posting Lionel Messi's passport details online has been acquitted on Tuesday by the Court of Appeals.
The appellate court overturned the primary ruling of one month jail term, which was given by the Court of Misdemeanours, and cleared the 24-year-old Emirati sergeant of breaching the Argentinian star's privacy.
Lawyer Abdelmonem Suwaidan told Khaleej Times the verdict may be appealed within 30 days by the public prosecution at the Court of Cassation.
"Today's verdict is very significant as it clears my client of any wrongdoing. To clear him of any criminal charges is rather a matter of principle."
Suwaidan has been representing a Dubai-airport stationed cop who was given one month imprisonment in February on the charge of breaching the privacy of the Barcelona star by posting pictures of his passport online.
"My client took the permission of Messi's business manager before he filmed himself with the passport. Messi stayed in Dubai for 4 or 5 days and he or his manager could have been summoned for questioning," said Suwaidan in his defence arguments before the court.
The lawyer added that no offence or breach of privacy has been done by his client against Messi. "He is a public figure and his pictures are all over the internet. The star was not offended otherwise he could have complained.
"My client posted a clip of himself holding the footballer's passport on Snapchat to a limited group of friends. He took it down shortly later after an unknown person circulated it online".
The case dates back to December 27, 2015, when the footballer had just arrived to Dubai for the Global Soccer Award Ceremony.
The sergeant, who has been charged with breaching others' privacy and abuse of the telecommunication services, earlier claimed in court he did not mean any harm or to breach the star's privacy. "It was just a joke," he said.
According to prosecution records, the officer was at Terminal 2 of the airport to submit a sick leave when he learnt that his idol was about to arrive. The sergeant told the investigators that he did not manage to take a selfie with the star, who was then tired as he was told by the star's guards.
However, when passing by the passport control counter he spotted Messi's passport. So he clicked photos of the passport and posted it on Snapchat, which is believed to have gone viral.
The court was told that the sergeant posted the photo of the passport with a comment that read: "This is Messi in Dubai... Now what to do? Burn the passport ...or leave it there? Ok. I will leave it there."
The officer, who has been suspended from work pending the trial, was detained for about 21 days after the incident and has been granted bail since the beginning of his trial.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
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