British woman held in Dubai after ‘swearing in a WhatsApp message’

Women said to be fighting over the use of their dining room table as a workplace during lockdown

The woman has lived in Dubai since 2018 (AFP via Getty Images)

 A human resources manager from the UK is reportedly being held in Dubai after swearing at her flatmate in a WhatsApp message during a row over their dining room table. 

The woman was attempting to board a flight from Dubai International Airport to London’s Heathrow Airport last week when she was apprehended by Emirati police. She has lived in the UAE since 2018 and was relocating home to start a new job. 

Speaking via campaign group Detained in Dubai (DID), the woman said she was told at the check-in desk at the airport that she could not board her plane and was instructed to see airport police.

The woman said she “ran in crying” to airport police to ask for help and was “waved off”, without knowing why she was being denied entry to her flight. She said she was then taken to three different police stations, and was eventually told that her former flatmate had complained about a WhatsApp message she had sent “months ago”, which contained a swear word. The two women had been fighting over the use of their dining room table as a workplace during the Covid-19 lockdown.

Police told her she would likely be issued a fine or face a short prison sentence. Upon questioning, she admitted the crime and gave a statement. Her passport was confiscated and her phone was taken for “forensic analysis” before she was released on bail. She is currently sleeping on a friend’s couch awaiting a court case date to be set over the row. 

However, as her residency visa expires on February 12, she worries she will face more penalties the longer this drags on.

“It is mentally and physically exhausting and draining - the communication barrier makes everything ten times more challenging and explaining that I don’t have an apartment, job or money in Dubai and was relocating permanently back home they just don’t seem to understand,” the woman said via DID.

“I have literally begged the police in all stations to help me and explained I have to get home.”

The woman said she has tried to contact her former flatmate to clear the situation up but the woman was replied: “CID will tell you what to do. Don’t bother me again, I’m busy.”

Dubai has strict laws around cyber crime and insulting a person electronically is considered a criminal offence. Defaming someone on social media (including WhatsApp) can carry a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to Dh500,000.

DID chief executive Radha Stirling said the woman had chosen to stay anonymous as she “is very worried about losing her job”. 

The British Embassy in the UAE is supporting her.

“I feel absolutely helpless and being given no idea on a timeframe is making me so anxious - I feel like a prisoner and no one in any of the stations is helping me get home,” the woman said. 

Dubai Police have not yet responded to requests for comment. The British Embassy in Dubai have also been contacted for comment.