Court Fines UAE Resident for Uploading Relative's Pictures and Insults on Social Media

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A 27-year-old Indian expatriate in the UAE has been ordered to pay a fine of Dh 3,000 after a court found him guilty of sharing photographs of his female relative along with defamatory text on a digital network.

The legal case began when the woman filed an official police complaint stating that the man uploaded the content online with the deliberate intention of hurting her reputation and causing public embarrassment. Further police investigations revealed that the man had similarly published unauthorized images of the woman’s father accompanied by insulting remarks.

During the court proceedings, the complainant explained that she is married to a relative of the accused and that the offensive online posts had caused immense distress and shame to her family. She emphasized that the photographs of both herself and her father were taken and distributed across social media platforms without their knowledge or consent.

A specialised cyber forensics team examined the defendant's mobile phone and verified that the defaming material was indeed shared from his personal account. In his defence, the young man argued that the victim knew his phone password and must have uploaded the posts herself to frame him.

The court rejected the man's claims due to a lack of evidence, choosing instead to rely on the forensic findings and witness statements. Consequently, the judge declared him guilty of cyber defamation under UAE law and ordered him to pay the financial penalty.