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The British couple convicted of having sex on a beach in Dubai have been freed and allowed to return to the UK after their three-month prison sentence was suspended.
Michelle Palmer, 36, of Rutland, and Vince Acors, 34, of southeast London, had appealed against the sentence handed down by a court last month for having sexual intercourse outside marriage and offending public decency on Jumeirah Beach. While their appeal was heard, they had been freed on bail and did not have to start their prison term.
Today, Dubai's Court of Appeal gave the pair to a three-month suspended sentence and deported them, fining them 1,000 Dirham (£170). The pair were originally arrested in the early hours of July 5 after meeting at a champagne brunch, held at the five-star hotel at which they were staying.
Hassan Matter, who represented the couple in court today, said: “The judge has cancelled the jail. He refused the prosecution appeal (for the sentences to be increased).
“They are free. It’s wonderful. The judge gave us a good hearing because he has a good heart and a good brain. He understood everything.”
Andrew Crossley, who represented Mr Acors, said it was not clear why the judge had suspended the sentence. “They don’t announce the reasons for their decision,” he said.
Mr Crossley said Mr Acors and Ms Palmer were “chuffed” at today’s decision. “Vince says it hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Mr Crossley, of London-based ACS Law. “They are both chuffed. Vince can’t believe it.”
The case of Ms Palmer and Mr Acors has raised awareness of the strict modesty rules still in place in the United Arab Emirates, despite Dubai's recent boom as a western tourist haven. More than 230 other Britons were arrested in the UAE last year for drunkenness.
By Sonia Verma
British 'sex on the beach' couple spared jail and allowed to return home - Times Online
Michelle Palmer, 36, of Rutland, and Vince Acors, 34, of southeast London, had appealed against the sentence handed down by a court last month for having sexual intercourse outside marriage and offending public decency on Jumeirah Beach. While their appeal was heard, they had been freed on bail and did not have to start their prison term.
Today, Dubai's Court of Appeal gave the pair to a three-month suspended sentence and deported them, fining them 1,000 Dirham (£170). The pair were originally arrested in the early hours of July 5 after meeting at a champagne brunch, held at the five-star hotel at which they were staying.
Hassan Matter, who represented the couple in court today, said: “The judge has cancelled the jail. He refused the prosecution appeal (for the sentences to be increased).
“They are free. It’s wonderful. The judge gave us a good hearing because he has a good heart and a good brain. He understood everything.”
Andrew Crossley, who represented Mr Acors, said it was not clear why the judge had suspended the sentence. “They don’t announce the reasons for their decision,” he said.
Mr Crossley said Mr Acors and Ms Palmer were “chuffed” at today’s decision. “Vince says it hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Mr Crossley, of London-based ACS Law. “They are both chuffed. Vince can’t believe it.”
The case of Ms Palmer and Mr Acors has raised awareness of the strict modesty rules still in place in the United Arab Emirates, despite Dubai's recent boom as a western tourist haven. More than 230 other Britons were arrested in the UAE last year for drunkenness.
By Sonia Verma
British 'sex on the beach' couple spared jail and allowed to return home - Times Online
