A British businesswoman who was arrested for having sex on the beach in Dubai will be jailed and deported if found guilty, lawyers in the Arab state believe.
Michelle Palmer, 30, will serve "years not months" in prison after she was allegedly caught twice on Jumeirah Beach.
Yesterday she was sacked from her role as associate publisher at Dubai-based ITP Publishing. The company said such behaviour by employees "would not be tolerated".
It is believed Palmer is under investigation for having sex outside of marriage, indecent behaviour in public, being drunk in public and assaulting a police officer.
The man she was with - a British holidaymaker - is also under investigation over the incident. Both have appeared in court once and have been bailed to reappear on a date to be fixed.
Palmer said she feared she would receive a lengthy sentence and was "panicking". Her fears were supported by a senior criminal lawyer in Dubai who said he believed that the defendant "would be made an example of".
On the day of the alleged crime Palmer had earlier attended a champagne brunch. There she met up with a British tourist and the pair went for a walk along the shore.
It is alleged that a police officer then spotted the couple having sex on the sand and let them off with a caution. But the same officer arrested them both when he returned soon after and found them still having sex. An assault on the police officer is then alleged to have taken place.
Palmer told the Sun newspaper: "Because this is known everywhere they're going to make an example of us and we're going to get a higher sentence. We are in so much trouble. I'm panicking."
Lawyer Tony Maalouli, managing director of Pro-consult Advocates and Legal Consultants in Dubai, said: "I would predict that she will get a long jail term in years not months and then she will definitely be deported."
He added: "Tourists and expatriates are lured here by the glitzy image; the beaches, the sunshine. But they sometimes forget that this is a Muslim country.
"Some things are tolerated, such as women wearing short skirts and dressing provocatively, but the authorities will crack down on people who abuse this tolerance."
A spokesman for ITP Publishing, which publishes business magazines, said: "All of our employees are handed booklets advising on behaviour, local law and customs. Michelle has been dismissed."
A Foreign Office spokesman confirmed two British nationals were arrested on Friday and that they were receiving consular assistance.
The spokesman was unable to confirm reports that Palmer could get between three months and six years in jail.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/jul/1 ... publishing
I wish one day we can apply the same laws as in Saudi Arabia, At least animals acts will not be in Public