Egyptian actress Zeina denies assaulting a family during her stay at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai. AFP
Egyptian actress Zeina denies assaulting a family during her stay at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai. AFP
Egyptian actress Zeina denies assaulting a family during her stay at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai. AFP
Egyptian actress Zeina denies assaulting a family during her stay at Atlantis The Palm in Dubai. AFP

Egyptian actress Zeina loses bid for girl, 12, to be charged in hotel attack case


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

An actress accused of assaulting a couple after a row at a five-star Dubai hotel has lost a bid for their 12-year-old daughter to be charged with breaching her privacy.

Egyptian celebrity Zeina, 38, and her sister, 41, allegedly attacked the Arab-American husband and wife at Atlantis The Palm on June 29 last year, after she accused their daughter of taking photos of her without her consent.

According to court records, the celebrity and her sister also screamed at the tourists using “very strong language”.

Police were called and all involved were taken to Al Barsha police station.

At Dubai Court of Misdemeanours in January, the celebrity and her sister denied physically assaulting and insulting the man and his wife.

During the previous hearing, the man denied a counter charge of physically assaulting the actress. His wife, who did not attend court to enter a plea, is also charged with physical assault.

The case was brought back to court on Wednesday, with the actress's lawyer, Mahmoud Azab, requesting that the girl be charged with breaching the privacy of his client.

A counter request to charge Zeina with physically assaulting the girl and traumatising her was made by Awatif Mohammed, from Al Rowaad Advocates, representing the family.

Following requests from both sides, the case was returned to prosecutors who ruled out a breach of privacy charge after a technical report confirmed that neither the girl’s mobile phone nor her mother’s contained any images or recordings of the actress.

"The report also confirmed that no images of the actress were deleted from the devices," said Ms Mohammed.

Ms Mohammed called on the court to charge the actress with physically assaulting the girl.

She told the court that the girl was traumatised because of the alleged assault and was referred to therapy sessions when she returned to the US.

She also asked the court to cross-examine a witness whose testimony she said confirmed the assault.

"The witness was a customer at the restaurant that day and he saw the actress assaulting the girl. He told that to prosecutors and told them that when he tried to stop the actress from hitting the girl, he was himself assaulted by the actress's sister," said Ms Mohammed.

"There is a medical report confirming the girl's injuries and a testimony of an eyewitness confirming the assault had happened, but yet prosecutors failed to charge the actress with assault for the second time now."

The actress failed to appear at the latest hearing, with her lawyer telling the court she was sick.

The case was adjourned until April 8, when the court will examine the request for Zeina to be charged with a further assault on the girl.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
Episode list:

Ep1: A recovery like no other- the unevenness of the economic recovery 

Ep2: PCR and jobs - the future of work - new trends and challenges 

Ep3: The recovery and global trade disruptions - globalisation post-pandemic 

Ep4: Inflation- services and goods - debt risks 

Ep5: Travel and tourism 

Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES

SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities

Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Tuesday's fixtures
Group A
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Iran v Uzbekistan, 8pm
N Korea v UAE, 10.15pm
UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5