Lawyer headbutted police officers, Dubai court hears

Police said the man became violent after they tried to handcuff him

A lawyer resisted arrest and headbutted one police officer and punched another, Dubai Criminal Court heard yesterday.

The Egyptian man, 32, was wanted by the Dubai Personal Status Court after his former wife reported him for not handing over their daughter’s passport, as the court had ordered.

On July 21, police were sent to arrest him at his home.

“We approached him and identified ourselves,” said a police officer.

He said the man began yelling at them: “You can’t do nothing to me, I’m a lawyer and I can report you for this.”

Prosecutors said he twisted one officer’s arm then punched and scratched him before he headbutted the other and threw him to the ground.

“People started gathering around us as he continued to scream and resist arrest,” the first officer said. “We called for back-up.”

The officer who was butted said that he had been trying to put handcuffs on the defendant.

“We told him we were police officers. “We showed him our IDs and told him it was our job, but he was screaming and assaulted me and my colleague,” he said.

The lawyer ran back into his building but gave himself up when a second patrol car arrived.

“He started saying that we assaulted him but we didn’t,” one of the officers said. “We didn’t follow him into the building, we remained outside waiting for back-up.”

At Dubai Criminal Court yesterday, the lawyer denied charges of resisting arrest and assaulting police officers.

“I swear to God that they assaulted me, your honour,” the accused told judges.

The next hearing is scheduled for October 19.