A Scottish man jailed for having gay sex in a public place in Dubai is to be released after his sentence was heavily reduced on appeal.
Paul Brandt, 29, of Aberdeenshire had originally been sentenced to three years imprisonment.
The Dubai Court of Appeal reduced his sentence to four months, meaning he can be released almost immediately.
Mr Brandt had insisted he had not had sex with the man as they were returning from a night out at 3am.
A witness had told the court that on the night in question in February, he had parked behind a petrol station and saw two men having sex, reporting the incident to police.
Although he had initially admitted having sex with the other man, Mr Brandt said the confession had been undertaken in Arabic.
The Scottish Sun reports that the appeals court acknowledged there had been no interpreter present at the time of the arrest and amended his sentence.
Mr Brandt had said: “There was no sex involved. It was just a kiss and a cuddle. I am serving a three-year sentence and I have lost my job all because of a kiss. But this is Dubai. I am going to appeal.”
Although the appeals court did not appear to have overturned the initial ruling today, it did reduce Mr Brandt’s sentence from three years to four months, meaning he can be released upon completion of the relevant paperwork.
Mr Brandt, who was working as an IT teacher at the Deira International School, said: “I am thrilled. I was innocent all along.
“I knew there was no real evidence against me, that’s why I have been so positive.”
by Stephen Gray
Source – PinkNews
