Two British citizens were spared jail time in an appeal of the original 3 month sentence for:

1. Sex outside of wedlock and;
2. Sex in public

Under Islamic law, public display of affection is illegal.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/...ai-britons.html

Thoughts? This article reminded me of previous cases where Canadian law was bent or changed to accomodate foreigners/immigrants. Dubai, which markets itself to the Western world as a tourist destination enforces their law as written, even when it comes to tourists.

Super lucky for them. Although something like this would be treated lightly in Canada it doesn't mean that it should apply in Dubai.

I'm actually really surprised that the ruling came out in favor of the Brits. Usually Islamic law is very strict and it's interesting to the see that original verdict was overruled. Regardless I think it's a good lesson for the both of them and a good example for others - if your visiting another country understand the culture and norms. It could have ended up a lot worse for these two.

Laws should be enforced for both citizens of the country and tourists the same.

People should be aware of laws before visiting another country

A country shouldn't market itself as a tourist destination if it intends to alienate the very market it's promoting itself to. That just doesn't make sense.

Jailtime for sex/pre marital sex. Sounds like an exciting city

A country can still be a tourist destination without allowing for people to have sex on a beach.

Canada is a tourist destination too and if they were caught doing the same thing here, they would be arrested also.

EDIT: not for premarital sex... but sex in a public place

This reminds of this other case:

Man Jailed for 4 Years for Speck of Marijuana on Shoe Sole

they definitely got off easy when compared to this.

but ya, why advertise yourself as a tourist spot for westerners if you're gonna enforce all these strict rules.

That's insane. Time to scratch Dubai off my list of places to visit.

Funny thing here is, she'd still be guilty for their public display of affection.

Imagine visiting Dubai and getting busted for walking down the street holding hands with your significant other and having to pay a huge fine... that'd suck!

Originally posted by max_boost
That's insane. Time to scratch Dubai off my list of places to visit.

Nahh, just dont have sex in public and you should be fine

Scary..isnt dubai supposed to have a shit load of escorts?? how does that work

fuck that place
like seriously
read that article for the guy who got 4 years for having trace amounts of mairjuna not visible to the human eye on his shoe

Originally posted by max_boost
That's insane. Time to scratch Dubai off my list of places to visit.

Yup

Originally posted by LadyLuck


Nahh, just dont have sex in public and you should be fine

Article says - hugging and kissing

Originally posted by dezmarez
fuck that place
like seriously
read that article for the guy who got 4 years for having trace amounts of mairjuna not visible to the human eye on his shoe

And the other guy with melatonin got arrested as well- wtf

Yup - Dubai is off the list for travel.

They are going to have a serious image problem if things such as this continue to happen. For example:

http://www.orange.co.uk/entertainme...ebrity/3537.htm

also from the op's article

they are still lucky...

Just goes to show you how bad things are in other middle east countries when this is as good as it gets for tourists.

My father-in-law has worked in many countries around there including Dubai and he said the governments and people there are so stupid and racist that it has unfortunately made him racist when he spends time back in Calgary because of how he is treated there.

Thats crap. The best answer here is to not visit Dubai! I remember hearing on the news in germany last month that some canadian woman got arrested in Dubai and detained for a lenghty period of time or something of the sort because she had a couple drinks at the airport during a 15 hour layover.

I found the article.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/n...56-7a61ca021909

And the UAE is "supposed" to be the more liberal Arab state - compared to Saudis for eg. and Iran.

Yep, one has to be very aware of the absurdity of these countries' laws before entering - especially during Ramadan.