Photo blackmailer is jailed for three months in Dubai

Man refused to return photos of ex after break-up and demanded cash in return.

DUBAI // A man who blackmailed his ex-girlfriend with photos of her she had given him to show to his mother was sentenced to three months in prison today.

Emiratis HA, 24, and 25-year-old TS fell in love after meeting in a shopping mall and planned to get married.

The girlfriend gave the man three pictures of herself to show to his mother but, when the mother saw them, she refused to approve their marriage plans.

"I ended the relationship and asked him to return my pictures but he demanded I pay him Dh1,500," recalled the woman. "I did so but he did not give me the images and, three days later, he asked me to pay him another Dh200 and then a week later another Dh3,500, which I also did."

He then stopped calling her but a few months later he got back in touch and asked her for Dh25,000.

"I didn't have the money and when I told him I couldn't pay, he threatened to send the pictures to my family members," she said. It was at that point the woman reported the man to police.

"He called me after the police contacted him and told me he was not afraid of the police. He said I should drop the complaint but I refused," she said.

The man then visited her house and tried to show the pictures to her brothers.

"He did so to force me into paying him but I refused. Instead, I went to Rashidiya police station and lodged an official complaint," the woman continued.

Prosecutors showed the court the threatening text messages the man had sent her.

At Dubai Criminal Court, he denied blackmail but admitted making threats and abusing telecommunications before being sentenced.