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Tourist sentenced for touching fellow man’s hip freed

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A Scottish man, Jamie Harron, facing up to three years in prison in the United Arab Emirates, for putting his hand on a man’s hip has been told he is free to leave following an intervention from the emirate’s ruler.

Harron’s campaign group detained in Dubai announced that he had been freed and his passport returned.

The 27-year-old man appeared in court after being arrested for alleged public indecency and drinking alcohol at Rock Bottom Bar on July 15.

Harron was exonerated by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of the emirate.

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READ ALSO: Man faces three years imprisonment for touching fellow man’s hip

Radha Stirling, CEO of DiD, said, “We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed for his personal intervention in this case, and for exonerating Jamie at long last.

“This was a courageous and honourable decision on the part of Sheikh Mohammed, and while it highlights the urgent need for judicial reform in the country, it is also a hopeful sign that the UAE’s leadership possesses the will and vision to pursue such reforms in the future.”

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Harron who had been working in Afghanistan was in Dubai for two days on vacation when he was arrested for public indecency, he lost his job and was told he could have faced up to three years in prison.

He had already been sentenced in absentia to 30 days in prison for failing to appear at a court hearing for making a rude gesture and drinking alcohol during the same July incident.

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In relation to the public indecency charge, Harron said he ‘touched a man on his hip to avoid impact’ as he made his way through a crowded bar, holding drinks.

He was initially jailed for five days, and then released on bail with his passport confiscated.

Metro.co.uk reports that Police in Dubai is said to have called Harron on Monday morning telling him the cases against him had been dismissed and he could collect his passport.

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