Women arrested for public debauchery after naked stunt in Dubai
A group of women have landed themselves in serious hot water in Dubai after they posed naked on a balcony in a stunt that went viral online.
The women were arrested on charges of public debauchery in the United Arab Emirates, where the violators of the public decency law could face sentences of up to two years behind bars, the UK’s Metro reported.
Videos and images of the more than a dozen women — lined up in their birthday suits in Dubai’s upscale Marina neighborhood — made waves on social media this weekend, shocking the federation of seven Arab sheikhdoms.
In the footage, a woman in a green dress and high heels is seen snapping photos of the nude group as another person shoots video from a neighboring balcony.
Radha Stirling, director of Detained in Dubai, said the X-rated shoot is believed to be part of a campaign for an Israeli porn channel.
“Initially we were being told that it was the Israeli branch of a US adult website and now we are hearing that it’s an Israeli porn channel,” Stirling told UK publication Metro.
“We have been told it’s a mixture of nationalities involved,” she added, without elaborating.
Stirling, who founded the London-based advocacy organization, called the stunt “brazen” and said it has upset both locals and expats living in the country.
“It’s a pretty brazen and severe crime to stand out there on the balcony where everyone could see them and people on other balconies could film them for footage which has gone viral,” she told the outlet.
“People are very upset about it, the ex-pat communities are upset, including the British nationals. They think what these people were trying to do was quite vile, knowing full well the laws in relation to exposure are strict in the UAE,” Stirling continued.
“People have been arrested for wearing T-shirts deemed to be offensive yet they were out there in plain sight of the rest of the buildings.”
The Israeli Foreign Ministry told Detained in Dubai that no Israelis were arrested, but did not comment on whether any citizens were involved in the stunt or the filming.
“On the surface, it seems like a modern party place but once a complaint is made it’s taken very seriously. If it’s an Israeli company, they may not have been as aware of what is acceptable and what is not as they haven’t had the Dubai media exposure over the past decade that we have,” Stirling said.
Much tamer behavior, such as kissing in public or drinking alcohol without a license, has landed people behind bars.
Police said the women arrested over the “indecent” video have been referred to the public prosecution.
“Such unacceptable behaviors do not reflect the values and ethics of Emirati society,” police said in a statement.
While liberal compared to its Middle Eastern neighbors, the UAE has strict rules governing expression based on Islamic law, or Shariah.
The UAE was the fourth Arab country to establish diplomatic relations with Israel last year under then-President Trump — a breakthrough that also established direct commercial flights between the Jewish state and Dubai.
Originally published at https://nypost.com on April 5, 2021.