A UAE court has convicted a 27-year-old Indian national of insulting and defaming a female relative online, sentencing him to pay a AED 3,000 fine after he was found to have published her personal photograph accompanied by offensive commentary on his social media account.
According to a Khaleej Times report, the woman, who is married to one of the defendant’s relatives, discovered the posts and brought the matter to police, telling investigators and prosecutors that the content caused her significant embarrassment and humiliation — particularly given that family members and others who knew her had seen the material.
Court records show the defendant had also posted a photograph of the woman’s father, attaching similarly defamatory remarks to that post. Neither the woman nor her father had consented to their photographs being shared on his account.
Electronic evidence specialists were brought in to examine the defendant’s social media profile. Their forensic review located the offending posts and formally documented them as part of the case file.
The defendant denied he was responsible, claiming the woman had taken his phone, used a password she already knew to access his account, and published the material herself. The court dismissed the explanation as unconvincing. Weighing the forensic evidence against the victim’s statements to prosecutors, the court found sufficient grounds to establish his involvement.
While ruling against the defendant, the court acknowledged mitigating factors and opted for a financial penalty rather than a harsher sentence. Neither the specific mitigating circumstances nor the applicable statutory provisions were detailed in the publicly available court records.
