Dubai drops case against British man for ‘touching man’s hip’

A Scottish man who was jailed in Dubai for touching another man’s hip has been cleared, after intervention by UAE’s prime minister.

Jamie Harron, a 27-year-old electrician from Stirling, was sentenced to months in prison for public indecency after he touched another man in a bar, apparently to avoid spilling a drink.

The alleged incident took place at the Rock Bottom Bar on July 15.

Jamie Harron (Facebook)

Just last week Harron was sentenced to three months behind bars, after spending thousands of pounds on legal costs and expenses.

But he is now expected to be freed, after the charges against him were mysteriously dropped in the face of negative media coverage.

Action group Detained in Dubai, said that the charges were dropped under orders from  Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the United Arab Emirates prime minister and ruler of Dubai.

The group said that Mr Harron has had his passport returned, and that he is free to leave Dubai.

Detained in Dubai spokeswoman Radha Stirling told the BBC: “The charges were dropped, the sentence annulled, and he faces no order for deportation. This came by direct order from Sheikh Mohammed [bin Rashid al-Maktoum].

“We wish to express our deepest gratitude to Sheikh Mohammed for his personal intervention in this case, and for exonerating Jamie at long last.

“It has now been established that the allegations against Jamie were entirely unwarranted, defamatory, and meritless.”