A vehicle transaction that began online has ended up before a court in Sharjah, with a typed word at the center of an electronic defamation charge — and an unusual defense.
According to Gulf Today, the Sharjah Misdemeanor Court is hearing a case against an Arab man alleged to have insulted a complainant, identified only as B.F., through a WhatsApp exchange. The accused, however, maintains the offending term was never intentional.
Facing the complainant directly during proceedings, the defendant rejected the allegations outright. He told the court the two had no prior relationship and came into contact solely through a car sales website. Their interaction, he said, never moved beyond digital messages — the two have never met face to face.
The critical moment in the exchange, the accused argued, came down to a typing error. He contended that what appeared to be an insult was the unintended result of a keystroke mistake, not a deliberate act of defamation.
With both parties present, the accused requested additional time to pursue a possible settlement. The court granted that request, adjourning the session to allow an opportunity for reconciliation between the two sides.
