Dubai’s Top Court Overturns Convictions in Unusual Marital Privacy Dispute, Acquits Husband of Secretly Filming Wife

A protracted and unusual legal battle between a European couple in Dubai has ended with the emirate’s highest court acquitting a man accused by his wife of secretly filming her without consent.

 

The case began when the woman filed a police complaint, alleging her husband had repeatedly photographed and recorded her during private and emotionally vulnerable moments, including when she cried or argued. She also claimed that he installed surveillance cameras in their home under the pretext of monitoring a housemaid, but in reality to track her movements.

 

Prosecutors charged the 38-year-old man under the UAE’s cybercrime and privacy laws, citing digital forensic evidence that showed personal images of his wife on his phone. The Court of First Instance convicted him and imposed a Dh5,000 fine, with the Court of Appeal later upholding the ruling.

 

Throughout the trial, the husband denied the accusations, insisting the recordings were either consensual or shared willingly by his wife. He alleged that the case was rooted in marital disputes rather than privacy violations. His defence argued that the lower courts had misinterpreted the law.

 

After years of back-and-forth litigation, the case reached Dubai’s Court of Cassation, which overturned the earlier convictions and cleared him of all charges. Legal observers noted that the ruling has once again brought attention to the boundaries of privacy, consent and marital relations in the UAE’s legal framework.

 

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