British Tourist Jailed for Kissing in Dubai

(March 15) -- In Dubai, public displays of affection are not only frowned upon. They might even land you in jail.

That's what happened to a British woman and her boyfriend who kissed each other at a public restaurant, only to be promptly reported to the police and then arrested.

Meeting at Bob's Easy Diner, a seaside restaurant in Dubai, 25-year-old Charlotte Adams greeted 24-year-old Ayman Najafi with what the couple describes as a harmless exchange of cheek kisses.

"We kissed each other on the cheek as a greeting, nothing more," Najafi said at a court hearing on Sunday.

Sitting at a nearby table, however, were an Emirati woman's two daughters, who told their mother that the couple had kissed on the lips. The mother called the police, and Adams and Najafi were arrested on charges of public indecency and drinking alcohol.

"My daughter told me that the accused were kissing on the mouth. Then I spotted them doing so myself. I also saw them touching each other, and they were seated two to three meters away from our table. A number of customers witnessed the scene as well," the Emirati woman who filed the complaint testified in a court appearance Sunday.

Their passports confiscated, the couple now face the prospect of one month in jail and subsequent deportation from Dubai.

According to ABC News, employees at the restaurant said they saw no signs of inappropriate behavior from the couple.

"They said they were just sitting, laughing like everyone else," the restaurant's manager told ABC News. "The managers wouldn't let it happen -- we know the culture of the country, and we wouldn't allow this at all."

While alcohol is sold at hotels and bars in Dubai, technically it is against the law to drink without a liquor permit from the Ministry of the Interior. At their discretion, police can impose fines or imprisonment, especially in cases involving public drunkenness.

On its Web site, the U.S. Department of State warns travelers from the U.S. about the strict nature of Dubai's legal code.

Americans have been arrested in the past for obscene hand gestures, using inappropriate (foul) language with a police official, and for making public displays of affection, such as kissing.

Adams, a real estate agent who came to Dubai for a vacation, and Najafi, a marketing consultant based in Dubai, are free on bail pending an April 4 court date, ABC reported.