An 'adulterous' mother speaks from her Dubai prison

'A good day is when I speak to my sons': An 'adulterous' mother speaks from her Dubai prison
By Angella Johnson



Marnie Pearce shuffles into the narrow, glass-fronted booth from where she greets visitors at Dubai’s Al Awir women’s jail.

Ill-fitting, dusty-pink drawstring pants and a matching shirt hang loosely on her gaunt frame – she has lost nearly a stone since being imprisoned for adultery seven weeks ago.

Despite the artful application of make-up, her once glowing complexion is pale and dry. Her face is drawn into a tight mask of despair and her long, blonde hair, which was her crowning glory, reveals prominent dark roots.

The former florist from Berkshire has become an unlikely cause celebre for human rights campaigners – Amnesty International has called for her immediate release – since her dubious conviction under draconian Sharia law.

She was sentenced to six months, cut on appeal to three, after her former husband, an Egyptian, told police she had been having an affair. And Marnie, 40, has clearly been struggling to cope with life behind bars.

Marnie and Ihab on their wedding day. Soon after they married Ihab became violent towards her, subjecting her to 'years of abuse'
She has not seen her children, Laith, eight, and Ziad, four, since she was locked up.

...

Marnie’s nightmare began on March 27 last year when police raided the family home in a smart suburb of Dubai. They found her inside with Brian Clark, also British, who was visiting from Saudi Arabia.

Marnie was arrested and Ihab, 41, claimed she was having an affair. The family’s Indonesian maid, whose salary he pays, gave supportive evidence.
Under strict Muslim edict, it is unlawful for a woman to be alone in her home with a man, other than her husband or a family member.

The rule is rarely enforced for Westerners. And Marnie certainly hadn’t concerned herself because in the past Ihab had always held liberal views on such matters. She had not counted on him exploiting the system to avoid an expensive Western divorce and custody battle.

‘Ihab set me up,’ Marnie insists, jabbing her finger as she becomes increasingly animated. ‘I did nothing wrong. He bribed the maid to spy on me and then planted used condoms as evidence.’

'A good day is when I speak to my sons': An 'adulterous' mother speaks from her Dubai prison | Mail Online

Should this woman be imprisoned?

If it's been positively determined that she committed adultery, yes. I don't know enough about the case to say for sure whether I believe that she's guilty or not, but frankly, the whole "planting evidence" thing reeks of bullshit.

the whole case reeks of islamo sh1t----People have been duped into BELIEVING that the islamo-sh1t is not a problem in Dubai. In any case she will be out soon and can get into position to dump the piece of stinking crap she married and------try to get her kids away from his filthy paws

'A good day is when I speak to my sons': An 'adulterous' mother speaks from her Dubai prison | Mail Online

Should this woman be imprisoned?

Fuck off. Nobody wants to hear your bullshit.

Watch your language---I am not EMAK AL SHARMOOTAH--- or ABOUK AL KANZEER

And Dubai is one of the most liberal places in the Middle East.

A little tidal wave and it's all history.

I believe so, yes. Because matrimony entails financial incentives and other types of benefits from the state, violating the contract by acting adulterously should carry legal consequences.