Dubai - Two police officers heard the second defendant threatening her by phone.
Published: Tue 14 Jan 2020, 3:00 PM
Updated: Wed 15 Jan 2020, 9:06 AM
Two Egyptians have been charged at the Dubai Court of First Instance for allegedly blackmailing a Saudi student and threatening to circulate her personal photos and videos unless she paid them Dh2,000.
The two men, both on visit visas, aged 25 and 24, are also accused of invading the privacy of the 28-year-old student and her friends by transferring visual materials from her phone to other smart phones.
The 25-year-old defendant had stolen the woman's bag, in which she kept her mobile phone, sun glasses, clothes, and other possessions. His accomplice is accused of possessing the ill-gotten items.
The case unfolded between August 25 and September 11 last year.
During investigation, the complainant, a Masters student, said that at 7:30am on August 25 last year, she went to the bus stop in Al Ghubaibah as she wanted to go to Al Ain. "I had two bags and as I was about to put them in their spot in the bus, a man (the 25-year-old defendant) approached me and offered to help me carry the bags."
However, when she reached Al Ain later, she did not find one of her bags. "The driver told me that the accused did not take the bus. I lodged a complaint at the police station. My phone contained many photos of me, my female friends and family members.
"When I checked with Al Rafaa police station the next day, I learned that none of the surveillance cameras at the bus stop were working," she told the prosecutor.
The accused then began contacting her friends and threatening to spread their photos in which they wore gowns in private parties. "His accomplice called me. He sent my private photos to my friends and acquaintances. He wanted me to pay him Dh2,000 or he would disgrace me among my family, father, and friends," she recounted.
Two police officers heard the second defendant threatening her by phone.
Shortly after the two accused were arrested, one of the complainant's friends received a message, in which the sender was threatening the complainant to drop her complaint or he would circulate all her photos and videos on social media. "He did send her some photos saying that I would regret not dropping charges against him," the student said.
A police lieutenant said they apprehended the 24-year-old accused after the student told him to meet her at the metro station in Al Rigga. "We instructed her to help us catch the suspects. That defendant told us he was just a mediator and that the other accused planned the whole thing. The student's phone was found with him. The main accused was arrested after 2:30am near a shopping centre."
The trial will continue on February 2.
mary@khaleejtimes.com
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