Ellie Holman was on a flight on a Emirates Airline and was offered a glass of complimentary wine by an attendant which she accepted and drank.

Little did the dentist from England know, drinking alcohol was illegal.

According to Radha Stirling, Detained in Dubai’s chief executive, said it is “wholly illegal for any tourist to have any level of alcohol in their blood, even if consumed in flight and provided by Dubai’s own airline. It is illegal to consume alcohol at a bar, a hotel and a restaurant, and if breathalyzed, that person will be jailed.”

Was Holman supposed to be a mind reader or clairvoyant and know about that ridiculous rule?? Should it not be up to the airline personal not to serve anyone from anywhere alcohol when they are in Dubai airspace??

Holman said in a statement to Detained in Dubai that the prison guards also attempted to pull out her hair extensions, and the prison facility was “hot and foul-smelling.” She claimed she and her daughter were forced to sleep on a “filthy mattress” and to clean toilets.

“My little girl had to go to the toilet on the cell floor. I have never heard her cry in the same way as she did in that cell,” Holman said in a statement.

Holman added that she was given food that “smelled like rotting garbage.” She said her husband and friends tried to visit her in jail, but they were not allowed to see her.

Holman was released on bail days later, but could face “being detained in Dubai for up to a year while awaiting a court hearing,” The Guardian reported. Her passport was confiscated until the case is finished, and she claims to have already lost thousands of dollars in missed wages and legal costs.

The old cliché that ignorance of the law is no excuse does not apply in this case. Holman was GIVEN the glass of wine by people who should have known better.

Talk about the dark ages!! Strict laws in Dubai

1) Clothing. Women’s clothing should be conservative and females should avoid wearing clothes that are transparent, low-cut or short. The stomach, shoulders and back should be covered. Men should cover their chest and underwear should be out of sight. These rules are relaxed at beaches and swimming pools but topless sunbathing is not permitted in any location.

2) Public displays of affection. Kissing, cuddling and holding hands is not allowed in public, even in expat bars and clubs and can lead you into serious trouble. The case of Charlotte Lewis, 25, from Palmers Green in London is testament to this. In 2010 she was sentenced to one month in prison for allegedly kissing and stroking the back of British Dubai-based marketing executive Ayman Najafi in public. In a further case in 2007, an unmarried Indian couple were sentenced to a year in prison after being caught hugging and kissing in the back seat of a taxi. The driver observed them in his interior mirror and drove them straight to the nearest police station.

3) Customs laws. There are a number of products that are on the UAE’s banned list and cannot be brought into the country. Pornographic material, drugs and anti-Islamic material are not permitted. Be aware that some everyday items may also be banned. Possession of painkillers, for example, and some cold and flu remedies is considered illegal and if you are found with them on your person you could be on the receiving end of mandatory four-year prison sentence. Do not take custom laws lightly and be extremely conscious of what may be on your possession when you enter the country. Not convinced? Consider the case of one Swiss man who was sentenced to four years in prison after poppy seeds from a bread roll he had eaten in Heathrow were found on his clothes. In a further case British tourist Keith Brown was sentenced to four years in jail after Dubai customs officers found a 0.003g trace of cannabis stuck to his shoe. For a full list of banned substances see the Fair Trails Website. http://www.fairtrials.net/index.php/news/article/list_of_controlled_pharmaceutical_substances_in_uae/

4) Photography. When living in Dubai you should never take a photograph of a local without asking their permission, this is especially important with women. It is also illegal to take photographs of many government buildings and you can find yourself in hot water if you are caught doing so.

5) Alcohol. The consumption of alcohol is banned in the majority of public places but can be consumed in bars and restaurants that are part of a four or five star hotel. However, being seen to be drunk in pubic—no matter where you are—is strictly frowned upon and you can be jailed for any drunken behavior. Drink driving is also an absolute no no and if you are found with even the smallest trace of alcohol in your bloodstream you will be jailed.

6) Sex outside marriage. Sex outside marriage is not permitted in Dubai and it is a fact that this law can be applied to expats and visitors no matter where you are from. In a case that shocked the world last year a newly engaged couple found themselves in prison after the woman alleged that she was raped by a hotel employee. During the course of the investigation the police discovered that the couple were sharing a hotel room, even though they were unmarried, and they arrested them for having sex outside of marriage. The alleged attacker was not charged with rape, but instead was charged with sex outside of marriage. The couple were eventually allowed to leave Dubai after producing a marriage certificate and dropping the allegations of rape against the attacker.

STOP THE PRESSES – Change of heart.

Being a disciplinarian, there have been a few times when doing a post that I have had a change of heart after researching the subject and changed my mind before posting it. This happens to be one of them.

If all of the laws, regulations and restrictions make any country safer and they are enforced fairly; why not. BUTT the laws have to be enforced the same across the board for rich and poor alike. As long as all people occupying the country are aware of the laws as written,  I think it is fair they can be as strict as they are.  How can we argue with their success in law-enforcement??  The citizens know the rules upfront; if obey the law, not a problem, disobey the law, pay the price.

The USA should have started many years ago being a hell of a lot more aggressive, stricter with the laws by the way they enforcing them. We all can see the disastrous results of being to PC and lenient.

If a person wants to be honest with themselves, they will have to admit, the USA is hanging on by a thread. In many parts of the country, law enforcement has totally lost control and been defeated. I am afraid it is not going to get any better.

As I alluded to this morning in another post; the dangers in certain parts of the country are over the top. Citizens are being advised to stay in doors because it is dangerous to walk the streets.

Commonsense should tells us, which way would any person rather live their lives? The way they do in Dubai or in fear of walking out the front door. I would hate to see the response from people like the ACLU. They sure would have a tough time in Dubai trying to float their boat!!