Dubai court jails Indian man for posting derogatory remarks about Holy Prophet on Facebook

He has also been ordered to pay a fine of AED500,000

An Indian man has been sentenced to one year in jail and a fine of AED500,000 (US$136,128) for posting derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

The 31-year-old man, who worked as a welder, was accused of posting messages on Facebook in which he disrespected Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Islam last year. Although the accused deleted all his posts from his accounts, copies of the messages were obtained, translated and used by the prosecution as evidence against him in court.



He was arrested on November 8 last year, two days after a complaint was lodged at Al Rashidiya police station by an Indian man who saw his messages. The accused was taken into custody while he was trying to flee the country. The mobile phone from which he made the posts was also seized.



During the course of interrogation, the welder claimed someone supposedly hacked into his account and posted the messages, The Gulf Today reported. However, General Directorate of Criminal Evidence contended that the defendant's Facebook account was accessed from his own mobile phone and was last signed out on November 7, a day after posting derogatory remarks, with no indication of the device being compromised or hacked.

The court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to prison for a year and ordered him to pay a fine of AED500,000. He would be deported after serving his sentence.

The defendant may appeal the court ruling within 15 days.

This article originally appeared on Khaleej Times