Dubai court jails Indian man for accusing government of ripping off the poor

Twenty-five-year-old also fined £97,000 and told he will be deported at the end of his jail sentence.

A closeup shot shows the facade of the Dubai Courts building (AFP/Getty Images)

A Dubai court has sentenced an Indian worker to three months in prison for accusing a public body of ripping off the poor, local media reports.

The court also fined the 25-year-old 500,000 dirhams (£97,000) and said he would be deported at the end of his jail sentence.

The man sent the country's Road and Transport Authority (RTA) an email in which he said public authorities were taking “poor people’s money by making them intentionally fail in driving tests and forcing them to repeat the tests”. He had recently failed his own driving test.

The RTA reported the email to Dubai Police.

Presiding judge Mohammad Jamal gave the 25-year-old the fine for mocking and offending a government department via email after the defendant pleaded not guilty.

“The mobile device that was used in the crime will be confiscated. The defendant will be deported following the completion of his punishment,” Gulf News reported him saying.

He has the opportunity to appeal the decision.

Migrant workers are heavily exploited and abused in UAE, according to Human Rights Watch. Restrictive sponsorship policies tie workers to employers, increasing their workers’ vulnerability.

The UAE has strict cyber crime laws that allow courts to heavily fine people for comments made online.