Monday, Feb 01, 2016
Dubai: The lawyer of a policeman who was jailed for a month on Monday morning for posting Lionel Messi’s passport image on Snapchat, will seek to hear the footballer’s testimony in court as part of his defence argument.
Gulf News has learnt that the lawyer of the Emirati policeman, J.J., has appealed the Dubai Misdemeanours Court’s ruling and summoning the Barcelona legend Messi would be part of the defence argument.
“Messi is the holder of the passport, the image of which was posted on Snapchat. It is the right of the defence team to hear the testimony of the passport’s holder and, in this case, it is Messi. We will study the details of Monday’s primary judgement … and might summon Messi to testify before the Dubai Appeal Court in his capacity as the victim,” advocate Abdul Moniem Bin Suwaidan, of Bin Suwaidan Advocates and Legal Consultants, told Gulf News on Monday.
Presiding judge Rafaat Abbas convicted J.J. of abusing the telecommunication system and breaching Messi’s privacy by using his iPhone6 to post the footballer’s image of his passport and uploading it on social media.
Messi had just arrived at Dubai International Airport on December 27 to collect the Global Soccer Award’s best player award when the defendant photographed the superstar’s passport and posted it on Snapchat.
J.J. did not show up in court when the judge read out the verdict.
Meanwhile lawyer Yousuf Al Beloushi confirmed that the appeal hearing will be held on March 1 before the Dubai Appeal Court.
The defendant had pleaded guilty and admitted that he was wrong when he posted Messi’s passport details on social media. He then asked for leniency.
The incident happened when J.J. went to submit his sick leave certificate before his colleague told him that Messi was about to arrive at the airport’s private jets section.
“I waited for Messi’s arrival to take a photo with him … but his private escorts informed me that the player was tired and would not be able to take a photo. Thereafter I walked to the passport control office where I saw Messi’s passport on a desk. I grabbed the passport and opened it to the page that contained Messi’s personal details and took video images with my iPhone via Snapchat,” said the defendant.
Court records show the policeman posted the image on Snapchat and wrote a comment that read ‘This is Messi here in Dubai … what shall I do now? Burn his passport or let it go! Alas … I will let [it] go’.
by Bassam Zaza Legal and Court Correspondent
Gulf News 2016. All rights reserved.
