DUBAI: Sex on the beach?

A Muslim emirate is not the best place to mix champagne and beach romance. A British couple is facing up to six years in prison for allegedly having public sex near the surf in Dubai, a split-personality emirate that toys with Western permissiveness but is ruled by Islamic tenets.

The couple -– Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer -– face up to six years in jail for indecency and having unmarried sex. A trial on the charges is expected to begin next week. The British Broadcasting Company quoted Palmer, who was reportedly fired from her job at a publishing house after the incident, as saying:

“We were just kissing and hugging. We didn’t have sex together. I was lying on top of him. I have been to Dubai for 2 1/2 years without committing any kind of offense. I’m sorry.”

Authorities in Dubai -- the flashy, financial hub of the United Arab Emirates -- said the couple met at a champagne brunch, got in a taxi and were arrested on the beach by a policeman who spotted Palmer sitting on Acors with her shirt off.

“The lady is innocent,” Palmer’s lawyer, Hassan Mattar, told the media after the couple appeared in court this week. “The medical reports from the police show she didn’t have sex.”

Foreigners make up about 85% of the UAE's population of 5.6 million, and cultures often collide.

— Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo

Photo: Vince Acors, accused of having sex on a Dubai beach. Credit: Reuters

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Comments

[bern]

I respect Islam as much as any other religion. However, 6 years for what would be at most a minor misdemeanor in the non-Islamic world is nuts. That said, we have plenty of prohibitions here in the U.S. that should not be crimes at all.

[Beth K]

These 2 people are just 20 kinds of stupid. There should be a stupid law and they should get a few years added on for being stupid. Hello! 2-1/2 years in Dubai they should know the law. It is not a difficult law to follow, come on. Just keep your pants on in public. That is common decency anywhere, but especially so in the Middle East. These comments against Islamic countries are pathetic. Nobody asked them to come to Dubai. But since they did, they should respect the law and culture or face the consequences. No self-control. No respect. Pitiful.

[Steve]

Moral of the story: Don't go to Dubai.

[mr.beesh]

The man should of inserted his penis before the cops got there.

[rob]

These people did absolutely nothing wrong. I hope she sues her employer and wins millions. Not that anyone goes to Dubai anyway, but I'm sure as hell never gonna even think of it now.

[O]

Wait a minute? They had sex in public; indecent exposure (flashing your wang) in the UK, US can get you 2 years in prison. So, having sex in public in the US is now acceptable all of a sudden?

How is this "religious fanaticism". Sex in public is illegal in the US and UK too y'know. Isn't that part of the allure to have sex in public? The thrill is trying to get away with it, right?

I think this is more of a "look what them dirty Muzzies are doin"! Anything to demonize and ridicule Muslims is fair game, right?

You people seem to lose all rationality when the word "Muslim" or "Islam" come into play.

Her lawyer, who is a Muslim, says that she didn't have sex. How is this different from any other legal process in the world? The state applies an offense, the defense builds up evidence to refute the charges and until proven guilty, they deny, deny, deny.

As for the Islamophobic remarks, w/e. You people throwing around the word "hypocrisy" are the greatest offenders of all.

I wonder what you Christofascists think about all this. All of a sudden, cause Islam and "dem dirty Mooslems" are involved you're all for sex in public, I'll bet!

[Dan]

A friend of mine recently spent some time in Dubai around the time that this couple was arrested. Read this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/dubai/2275123/British-couple-arrested-in-Dubai-over-sex-on-the-beach.html
The full story is that this couple was caught getting hot and heavy in public and were warned by the police officer that it contravened local laws. They were let off with a warning, and the officer continued his patrol. When he returned, they were still going at it. Only then were they arrested. The local media also reported that the woman involved strongly resisted arrest, attempting to strike the officer.

Six years does seem quite a long time, but when you travel you have to respect the laws of the country you're in. Singapore, for example, has very strict laws; if you go there, you should be aware of that, and act accordingly. Being a westerner is not a free pass to assume the rest of the world will let you get away with whatever you want. And I say this as a westerner (Canadian living in the UK) who travels quite a bit. You respect the laws of the country you're going to, or your face their repercussions, not the repercussions you would face at home.

[Nick]

It's not whether they were doing something wrong, its whether Dubai should even punish them for it. The lynch-pin of American jurisprudence is the element of discretion. Each and every one of us breaks the law everyday, whether it's crossing the street not in a crosswalk or running a red light that just turned yellow. The reason why none of us are punished is because the criminal justice system utilizes discretion in whom to punish. Here, there is no discretion. What was an innocent act that couples all over the world partake in is now being punished with restitution similar to that of felonious offenses.

Further proof of muslim-fuggedry.

[I Campbell]

This wouldn't be so hard to stomach if it wasn't for the fact that their pious, so-called moral royalty and other high-flyers get up to all sorts when they leave the UAE and Saudi. Hypocrites.

[Adam]

Quote:

The British should remember that they don't rule the world anymore and their drunken, boorish behavior is not appreciated.

Yes yes; perhaps if we did, the world would be a happier place.

More to the point: it's British Broadcasting Corporation, not company.

Well done researchers. Another one to the yanks.

[Qamile Stema]

Burn-em.

[davy hamburgers]

THEY DIDN"T DO ANYTHING WRONG YOU FREAKS! you damn mutant cannibal savage idiots. anyone who defends these charges shows their amazing lack of COMMON SENSE and SIMPLE COMPASSION

are you beasts?
are you really that dumb?

ANY FREEDOM LOVING PEOPLE THAT GO TO DUBAI FOR ANY REASON ANY TIME ARE ALSO DISPLAYING UNCANNY LEVELS OF STUPIDITY

all religions may kiss my ass equally
the only religion any man or woman has ever needed on this Earth is BE KIND.

thats it

BE KIND

[SM]

I gues all this glitz and glamour is just skin deep. If you wantta be a Vegas in the middle east, this is just part of it. The image is nice to look at but its the action that makes a difference. Dubai evidently isnt even in the league !!! Any interest I had is now gone. Its really nothing but a muslim country trying to be something else, What a joke.

[M]

People need to respect the laws of the country they are in, not think they can act like they do back home.

Another idiot who thought he was untouchable:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grooverider

[Sabrina]

Unbelievable. A few kisses and a hug constitutes full on sex? Please. and please can someone explain to me WHY only the woman lost her job and not the man? What's up with that in 2008? So glad I had my "from here to eternity" moment on a beach in the good ole USA!

[Alejandro Bonilla]

These news are Great! This reminds us which places should be visit and which we shouldn't. Isolating Dubai and it's ridiculous believes is the first step to tackle this useless Culture.

[mike]

they should learn to respect other country's rules and laws. In britain you abide by british law, they should have done the same in dubai

[Dan Cunningham]

The comments about 'crazy muslims' on this thread are just ridiculous. I believe 6 years is a bit much, but, c'mon! If you met someone at a party and then went outside and had sex on a park bench in say, Los Angeles, do you seriously think you wouldn't be arrested? And if you did it within a 1000 feet of children there are parts of the US where you would automatically and permanently be labeled a sexual predator. Ridiculous people making statements obviously fueled only by their racism.

[:Patrick]

Boorish behavior not withstanding (and circumstances left out of the article), I've read plenty of stories of plain murder where the perp got less than six years. Let the punishment fit the crime I say. They're not expected to pay for centuries of British colonialism, just their own actions. Dubai wants that western cash, but not the western idea of mistakes and forgiveness. Who is served by locking these people up for six years for an regrettable indiscretion that hurt nobody except in their oh-so-delicate sensibilities?

[Mike]

If a country is going to whore it self out for tourist dollars, which this country is definately doing, you must play by the tourist rules, or hand every incoming tourist a comprehensive list of freedoms that they will lose by entering this country. Treat the tourist badly and Dubai is just another worthless sand factory.