- A British woman's visiting friends took selfies with a sleeping man
- He woke up and got into a fight with them
- They traveled back and now she is facing jail in Dubai
- She was charged with assault and theft - the man lost his glasses during the fight
A British woman is facing jail in Dubai after her friends got into a fight with a man when he caught them taking selfies with him while he was sleeping in a hotel lobby.
Asa Hutchinson, 21, originally from Chelmsford, Essex, claims she was not even at the scene of the fight, which involved her male friends and a Swedish man in his 50s.
But as her friends were just visiting tourists, and she is living in Dubai, she says that she has ended up with the charges of assault and theft on their behalf.
Hutchinson says that she and her friends had been to a brunch at Dusty's in Dubai's International Financial Center district when they spotted a man who had fallen asleep on a sofa. She describes how her friends began taking selfies with the sleeping man, a technology company executive, when he suddenly woke up.
According to Hutchinson, the man became angry and began punching her friends. The group left, but unbeknownst to them, the unnamed Swedish man contacted police.
Police obtained the group's names from the reservations list of the hotel restaurant and they were called in to a police station.
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Hutchinson said her friends managed to get their passports back by paying cash deposits before flying home to the U.K., but as an expat living in Dubai, she has ended up taking the full hit on their behalf.
She has been charged with assault and theft - the man lost his glasses during the fight, and is accusing her of having stolen them - and there is a real threat of a custodial sentence.
Hutchinson, a key account manager for a transportation company, says: 'It is so unfair, I was not involved, I just happened to be there, but the police are not interested in anything I have to say.
Radha Stirling, CEO of Detained in Dubai, the organization representing Hutchinson, said: "Visitors to the UAE need to be aware that justice does not operate the same way as it does in countries with mature legal systems."
"In Dubai, if two parties are in dispute or arguing, the first person to speak to the police is usually the one who is believed."
"Also, it is clear in this case that Asa was a bystander, not involved with the fight and is only being victimised because the alleged culprits have left the country."
This article has been adapted from its original source.
