Couple jailed for ‘indecent act’ in Dubai taxi

Rebecca Blake (pictured, second from the right) and Conor McRedmond (pictured, left) had denied charges of “breach of honour with consent” and “committing an indecent act in a taxi” when they appeared in court last month.

However, their lawyer said on Thursday that the pair had been found guilty and would be sent to prison before being deported. He said they would be appealing the sentence.

The pair had previously admitted a third charge in relation to the consumption of alcohol in a public place.

“The court sentenced them to jail for three months and deportation in addition to a fine of 3,000 dirhams each,” their lawyer Shaker al-Shammary told Reuters.

It is the latest example of westerners following foul of stricter decency laws in the Arab states.

In 2008 a British couple was found guilty of engaging in drunken sexual activity outside of marriage on a beach in Dubai. They were sentenced to three months in prison but had their jail terms overturned on appeal.

Another British couple were sentenced to a month in jail and fined for kissing on the mouth in a restaurant in Dubai in 2010.