Trial postponed in case of British woman detained for Facebook post in Dubai

British woman Laleh Shahravesh, who has detained in Dubai due to insults posted by her on Facebook, appeared at the Dubai Court of Misdemeanours on Thursday.

Shahravesh faces charges of ‘abuse on social media’ according to a complaint filed in 2017 by Samah Al Hammadi, the wife of her former husband Pedro Manuel Coreia Dos Santos.

Al Hammadi did not turn up in court and was being represented by a new attorney who requested more time to acquaint himself with the case.

The judge has pushed the trial to next week.

The judge said he would consider the request and asked Ms Shahravesh and Ms Al Hammadi’s lawyer to return next week.

Laleh Shahravesh, 55, was arrested at the Dubai airport on March 10 when she landed in the city along with her 14-year-old daughter to attend her Dos Santos’s funeral. He died of a heart attack on March 3.

She is currently out on bail.

Shahravesh conceded posting two offensive comments in Farsi on Facebook in 2016 when she was in the UK, including one that read: “I hope you go under the ground you idiot. Damn you. You left me for this horse.”

If found guilty under the UAE’s cyber crime law, she could face two years in jail and a hefty fine.

Shahravesh’s daughter, Paris – who has since returned to the UK – has written to Dubai’s Ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum pleading for her mother’s release.

Al Hammadi had told The National earlier this week that she was willing to withdraw the case.

Read: British woman detained in Dubai: Complainant ‘willing’ to withdraw allegation