Angry spurned student ‘told woman he would send her to prison’

The student was furious that fellow his another student had ignored his flirting and flew into a rage, a Dubai court is told.

DUBAI // A student told a woman who ignored his advances and offer of a hug that he would have her imprisoned, a court heard on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old Jordanian stood in the path of his compatriot, 23, and flirted with her before approaching her with open arms trying to hug her on the American University in Dubai campus on January 22.

She said that when she ignored him he started to blaspheme and threatened that he would have her imprisoned, before another student intervened.

The woman said she ignored the defendant but he kept flirting and blocking her way.

“I didn’t speak with him. I kept out of his way until he opened his arms and tried to hug me,” she said. “I stepped back and asked him why he was doing this. He stood still.”

The student who intervened said: “It was 7pm, I was told about the incident and tried to de-escalate the problem by taking the defendant away and into the parking lot, where he started screaming blasphemy again.”

He followed the defendant as he walked back to the woman.

“He told her that he would get her imprisoned,” the witness said. “At that point, the police were called in, and the defendant refused to be cuffed by the police officer, before we all headed to the police station.”

At Dubai Criminal Court on Wednesday, the defendant entered a plea of not guilty to charges of blasphemy, breaching a woman’s privacy and issuing threats.

“I did not say that I would imprison her. She said that,” the student said.

The next hearing was scheduled for April 20.