UAE-based couple on trial for having child outside of marriage

The Dubai Court of First Instance recently charged an Emirati man and an Uzbek woman of having an illicit relationship that resulted in a child, Khaleej Times reported. 

The duo has also been accused of forging a birth certificate for their baby girl using a fake marriage contract stating that the woman was married to another man. 

In court, judges were told the pair obtained the fake birth certificate at a local hospital, which issued the document to the girl's mother in September 2017. 

Both the man and woman now face jail sentences in charges including "having sex out of the wedlock and aiding and abetting in forgery and use of forged document."

Both defendants were arrested on July 27 and a case was filed against them at Al Rafaa Police Station.

During interrogations, the couple admitted to the accusations held against them. 

Dubai's general directorate of criminal evidence and criminology also submitted a DNA report to court, proving that the baby girl is the Emirati defendant's biological daughter. 

All evidence against the couple have now been presented to court and their trial is set to continue on November 25. 

The UAE prohibits sex outside of marriage and often jails couples found violating this rule.

This isn't the first time a couple faces illicit sex charges in the country. In recent years, several similar cases have been reported.

Earlier this year, police arrested a Jordanian woman and her Emirati boyfriend after her father reported their relationship to authorities. 

In recent years, a UAE-based British woman received jail time and a deportation sentence for having consensual sex with an Emirati man. 

Another similar case was reported in 2016 when a British woman was charged with having consensual sex with a Pakistani man.