Dubai pair jailed for blackmailing woman with iPhone pictures

The two men were sentenced to three years in prison

Two men who stole a Saudi woman’s mobile phone before threatening to post her private pictures online have been sentenced to three years in prison.

Prosecutors told Dubai Criminal Court that the Egyptian defendants, aged 24 and 25, carried out the theft on August 25 last year.

After approaching the victim, 28, who was struggling with her luggage at a bus station, the pair offered to help load her bags.

But on arriving in Al Ain she realised the luggage was missing and two days later a friend of hers was contacted by the men who demanded Dh2,000.

“When the defendants called my friend, they said my [phone] password was very easy and threatened to post some of my pictures online," the woman told the court.

“To prove their claim, they sent me a number of pictures and recordings from my stolen phone."

Despite the men's threats, the court heard that the woman refused to given in to the blackmail attempt.

Police officers were later able to locate the pair, charging them both with theft, issuing threats and breaching the woman’s privacy.

They were ordered to be deported after completing their sentence.