DUBAI // An American man sentenced to one month in prison and ordered deported after being found guilty of making a rude gesture to a policeman said yesterday through his lawyer that he was innocent. The lawyer told the Dubai Misdemeanours Appeal Court that his client, EC, only waved to the officer with the palm of his hand. The defendant was driving in the fast lane of traffic on Oct 19 when an officer in the vehicle immediately behind him began honking his horn, demanding to be given way. "My client tried to move to the right lane but could not do so as traffic was very heavy," the defence said. "This prompted the plaintiff to pass my client from the right and drive alongside, roll down his window and start shouting at him in Arabic."
EC did not know Arabic, but inferred the words may have been insulting. The defence said EC used his hand to ask the uniformed driver to move along and did not make a rude gesture. "The officer then stops my client, demands his licence and registration and my client finds himself in a police station held there until the evening as if he were a dangerous criminal," the defence said. He asked the court to overturn the earlier verdict and find his client not guilty. A ruling in the case is to be issued on Feb 5.
hbathish@thenational.ae
