British pair face jail for kissing in Dubai restaurant

A British couple have been told they must wait a further month to find out if they must serve a month in prison for publicly kissing in a Dubai restaurant.

Ayman Najafi, 24, a British expatriate in Dubai, and Charlotte Lewis, 25, a tourist, have been accused of breaching strict public decency laws at the fashionable Jumeirah Beach Residence in the Muslim emirate.



The Dubai authorities are holding their passports so that they cannot leave the country.



Khalaf al-Hosani, a lawyer, said that they are accused of “committing a sexual act [by] kissing on the lips and touching”.

They are also accused of consuming alcohol, a charge to which they pleaded guilty, but said they only kissed on the cheek. The Misdemeanours Appeals Court ruled that it would reach a final verdict on April 4, Mr al-Hosani added.