British man Jamie Harron facing three-months in Dubai jail has 'hip touching' complaint against him dropped

Facing jail: Jamie Harron, 27, with his parents Graham and Patricia
Detained in Dubai
Fiona Simpson12 October 2017

A British man facing a three year jail sentence in Dubai after putting his hand on a man’s hip to avoid spilling his drink has had the complaint against him dropped.

Jamie Harron, from Stirling, in Scotland, was arrested for public indecency after putting a hand on the man to avoid spilling a drink as he moved through a crowded bar, campaign group Detained in Dubai (DiD) said.

The 27-year-old electrician was told he faces up to three years in jail and lost his job following the incident.

However, the businessman who made the complaint is understood to have dropped the allegation after realising how long Mr Harron could spend behind bars.

A statement released by his employer Neumann & Esser said: "With a certain distance from the incident and the punishment to be expected for the suspect, our employee decided to withdraw the complaint despite the harassment having been confirmed by several witnesses.

"However, according to the typical laws for the country, this does not automatically result in the termination of the proceedings as, for example, very likely in England or Germany."

Mr Harron has already been sentenced to 30 days in prison for making a rude gesture and drinking alcohol and has spent £30,000 in legal fees and expenses after being stuck in the country for three months.

According to a DiD spokesman, he admitted drinking alcohol at the Rock Bottom Bar party spot after being arrested in July but denied making a rude gesture.

His lawyers have submitted an appeal.

Mr Harron is said to have been holding a drink, moving through a crowded bar and held a hand in front of him to avoid spilling it on himself or others when he "touched a man on his hip to avoid impact".

Police arrived at the scene "20 to 30" minutes later and arrested Mr Harron, according to his representatives.

He was then said to have been charged with public indecency, locked up for five days in Al Bersha prison, then released after bail with his passport confiscated.

The next court hearing is set for later this month.

Radha Stirling, chief executive of Detained in Dubai, said: "Jamie is quite hopeful he will get back now but the hearing is not set till October 22.

"If they drop the charges now it's fine but we will not hear back till then.

"The case has prompted 80 messages an hour of support and has even prompted calls for a boycott of the UAE over its treatment of expats and tourists."

Mr Harron had been working in Afghanistan and was on a two-day stopover in Dubai when the incident happened.

Speaking on Wednesday, he said: "I hope that it can be sorted out but I already didn't think it would have went on for so many months in the first place.

"I've lost my job, I'm in debt now, I may be going to prison and all this for a two-day stopover.

"It's just unbelievable. I'm still in shock that it's actually happened."

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