Pictures used in marriage blackmail, court hears

Jilted lover told woman that if she didn't go out with him and marry him, he would post compromising photos of her on Facebook.

DUBAI // A man is accused of threatening to post private pictures of his ex-girlfriend on Facebook if she did not date and marry him, a Dubai court heard this morning.

Prosecutors charged MM, 21, from Pakistan, with trying to black mail the 18-year-old girl into going out with him and her father into allowing their marriage. He also is accused of providing the pictures to another, unidentified person.

MM denied all charges before the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance.

According to records, in May 2010, MM called the alleged victim, MK, also from Pakistan, asked to meet her, but she turned him down. Prosecutors said he then threatened to post inappropriate pictures of her on Facebook.

The two were in a relationship but had broken up in 2007, MK testified.

She added that during their relationship, MM had taken photos of her kissing him and other pictures, whose nature was not explained in records.

MK told prosecutors that when she turned the defendant down, he called her father and asked for her hand in marriage. He threatened to post her his daughter’s pictures if he did not approve of the marriage.

Her father told prosecutors MM came to their house and threatened to physically assault MK. She and her parents then

went to a Dubai Police station and reported the incident, records said.

When the police called MM and ordered him to the station, his family contacted the girl’s father and begged them to drop the complaint in return for the pictures, according to records.

Prosecutors said the phone's memory chip did not have any pictures on it and on May 20, the family saw their daughter’s pictures on Facebook.

Records said MM provided the pictures to a man who posted them online. The man, however was not identified in records.

The family printed the pictures and filed another police report.

A verdict is expected on March 22.