Dubai: A court in Dubai has sentenced two Britons to three months in prison for having sex on a public beach in the Muslim country.
After they complete their sentence, the pair will be deported. They also have to pay a 1,000 dirhams ($367) fine for public indecency.
Police charged Michelle Palmer, 36, and Vincent Acors, 34, with illicit relations, public indecency and public intoxication after their arrest at a beach shortly after midnight on July 5.
Both denied that they had intercourse.
"The public (prosecutor) failed to produce corroborative evidence against my clients concerning having consensual sex and committing indecent gestures in public," said the pair's lawyer, Hasan Mattar.
He said the pair will appeal the verdict.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) — where Dubai is located — is home to thousands of expatriates and is among the most moderate Gulf states. Still, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom adheres to certain Islamic rules.
More than a million British visitors traveled to the UAE in 2006, and more than 1,00,000 British nationals live there, according to the British Foreign Office.
The country is in the midst of a building boom to position itself as one of the world's premier tourist destinations.
It is already home to the world's largest mall, the world's largest tower, and — despite being in the Middle East — boasts of the largest indoor snow park in the world.
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