DUBAI // A salesman has been found not guilty of groping a US navy officer at a woman’s clothing shop.
S K, a 47-year-old Indian, was acquitted by Dubai Criminal Court in May but prosecutors appealed against the verdict. The Court of Appeal upheld his acquittal.
On January 7, American M K and a group of sailors left their ship to tour Dubai.
They went into the shop and the 21-year-old said S K invited her to the accessories section of the shop.
“He showed me a necklace and told me to try it,” she said. “I refused and told him that it was not my style.”
She claimed he still put the necklace on her, even though she did not want to try it and she could not afford it.
“He took off the necklace from my neck and told me that he wanted to show me a scarf in the clothes department,” she said.
He put the scarf on her body without giving her a chance to do it herself, during which time she said he felt her breast.
She told prosecutors that she first thought he touched her by mistake but then she said he continued to feel her breast.
“He grabbed my breast in a hard way,” M K said.
“I took a step back and told him to take the scarf and I hurried back to the group, because I was afraid.”
She said she initially did not report the incident or tell anyone about it because she was ashamed and feared no one would believe her.
“I felt so stupid and ashamed of myself for not reporting the incident,” M K said. “I stayed secluded for three days before I decided to tell my colleague, S, about it, who advised me to report it.”
Only then did she report the incident to her supervisor, who told Dubai Police.
The ship left port but returned to Dubai on February 23, when she went to Bur Dubai police station to give a statement.
The defendant denied a sexual-assault charge in both courts. He told the presiding judge they should watch CCTV footage from inside the shop to know what really happened.
salamir@thenational.ae
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
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KYLIAN MBAPPE 2016/17 STATS
Ligue 1: Appearances - 29, Goals - 15, Assists - 8
UCL: Appearances - 9, Goals - 6
French Cup: Appearances - 3, Goals - 3
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Disclaimer
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
