Family matters Q&As: can I send a secret recording of my cheating husband's mistress to police?

Recording someone without their permission is an offence - but the courts have discretion to look at all valid evidence

Almost a year ago, I found out my husband was cheating on me with his colleague. When I confronted him, he assured me that he had stopped speaking to her. However, I was not convinced because he would return home late at night. Once I followed him and caught him at a night club with the same woman. She admitted to me that she had a relationship with my husband and I recorded her without her knowledge. Can I file a case against her?

In the UAE, adultery is a criminal offence as per Article 356 of UAE Penal Code. You can register a complaint with police but the prosecution will investigate both your husband and his girlfriend for the alleged offence. If a physical relationship outside wedlock can be established with reliable evidence, both the accused are likely to attract a jail sentence of one year, followed by mandatory deportation.

Recording someone without their permission is also illegal in the UAE. The criminal courts have the discretion to decide on the validity of the evidence on record. Therefore, you may choose to engage a lawyer to handle your criminal matter.

I have an ongoing divorce case registered by my wife. I have a 10-year-old child and have now decided that I do not want a divorce. I feel that my wife’s parents are inciting her against me. If I cancel her visa, and send her back to her home country, will the divorce case get dismissed? I think it is best for our marriage that she stays away from Dubai for some time as her parents also live here. 

Article 5 of the UAE Personal Status Law provides that the UAE courts shall have jurisdiction on family matters such as divorce, marriage, custody and maintenance when the defendant has a residence in the UAE. Since you are a resident in the UAE, your wife may file a divorce case regardless of her residency status. If you want to reconcile with your wife, you have the right to ask the court that your case be referred to a court-appointed arbitrator. You may consider engaging a lawyer to advise you on handling the divorce case so that you can come out of the case with the desired results.

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