Dubai Detains Lesbian Couple for "Indecent Acts"

A lesbian couple vacationing in Dubai face imprisonment and subsequent deportation for "indecent acts in public," according to Menassat.com. The sentencing of a Lebanese lesbian and her Bulgarian companion to one month in jail for kissing and fondling each other on a public beach is stirring debate in the Arab media. Dubai's court of appeal has upheld the jail sentences, reports Dubai newspaper 7Days.

The women, ages 30 and 36, were, according to police reports, spotted being "intimate" with each other at Al Mamzar public beach in April. "The Lebanese woman was lying on top of the Bulgarian, and the two were cuddling and kissing each other in front of us," a shocked witness told 7Days.

Both women pleaded not guilty.

The "lesbian indecency" case is the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven states, including Dubai.

While Dubai is a popular destination for tourists, with a majority of its 5.6 million residents being foreigners, Islamic law is still the rule. So homosexuality is considered a crime, punishable by jail, deportation, or execution, according to Pinknews.com.

Forty men were arrested in July for not respecting "social values" and behaving "like the opposite sex," Dubai police lieutenant general Dahi Khalfan Tanim said in a statement. He said they were dressed as women. (The Advocate)