DUBAI // A Jordanian paramedic and an Emirati driver have won their appeal against six-month sentences handed to them for filming three dead bodies and circulating the footage via WhatsApp after a crash that killed 13 labourers.
The video, shot on a mobile phone, was viewed on social media in the days following the fatal crash on May 10 last year.
It shows the bloodied bodies of the victims lying on the ground near the crash site on Emirates Road, and the mangled remains of the bus.
Prosecutors said that Jordanian N H told Emirati driver H G to record the footage of him near the dead bodies before asking him to send it to a man identified as Basem.
The clip started spreading and it was reported to police. The pair involved were arrested and then charged with using technology to violate the rights of people who are dead. They were also charged with disrespecting the dead by violating their privacy.
The Jordanian confessed in court, saying that it is usually part of the job of emergency responders to record the scenes that they attend.
The Emirati driver, however, denied the charges, saying that he was surprised when he noticed N H shooting the video.
Dubai Court of Misdemeanours sentenced both to six months in jail, to be followed by deportation for N H.
They both appealed the verdict and Dubai Court of Appeal upheld the sentence but ordered its suspension. They again appealed and the cassation court announced that both men had been found not guilty, though no reason for the verdict was given.
salamir@thenational.ae