A Romanian woman will be jailed and deported from the United Arab Emirates for having extra-marital sex on a yacht and taking pills to abort her pregnancy, Gulf News reported on Monday.
The woman had consensual sex with an unidentified man, believed to be a Romanian who has fled the country, on a luxurious yacht at Dubai Marina last year, and subsequently gotten pregnant.
She was recently sentenced to one month in jail, along with a fine, for having sex outside marriage and carrying out an abortion - both of which are considered illegal in the country.
Having found out she was pregnant, the Romanian woman had bought some medical pills to eliminate the unwanted baby. She subsequently suffered from severe bleeding, prompting her to visit a hospital in Dubai.
Doctors discovered that the woman was bleeding due to the intake of abortion pills.
After failing to prove that her pregnancy was legitimate, the woman was reported to the authorities and charged with carrying out a forceful abortion.
The Emirati law states that it is a crime for a woman to abort her pregnancy, with two exceptions: if the pregnancy poses a danger to the mother's life or if there is evidence that the baby will have fatal abnormalities, according to The National.
The woman was also accused of having extra-marital sexual intercourse.
Meanwhile, the man who had impregnated her left Dubai after learning about the pregnancy, according to the woman's testimony.
Appearing before the Dubai Misdemeanours Court, the woman pleaded not guilty and alleged that the sexual intercourse took place in Romania, retracting her initial confession about having sex in Dubai.
Along with deportation, the court decided to jail the defendant for three months for having consensual sex and an additional month for the abortion.
The appeal court then considered leniency circumstances and reduced the sentence to one month in jail for the sex charge and Dh2,000 ($545) for the abortion.
The UAE has long cracked down on people who have sex outside marriage, with violators facing prosecution, imprisonment, and/or a fine and deportation.
According to The National, "All convicted of having an illicit relationship will be punished with not less than one year in prison and deportation for expatriates".
Just last week, it was >announced that a British woman who was jailed for having consensual sex with an Emirati man will be deported from the UAE.
Earlier this year, a Japanese couple was >detained and interrogated after they were caught having sex on a Dubai beach. A Dubai court later handed the duo a one-month suspended imprisonment and an immediate deportation order.