Deportation fears as girlfriend launches police case after argument

Q: I have been staying with my girlfriend for two months. We have no marriage certificate and we argued. She decided to file a case against me alleging that she is pregnant but she is not. I would like to know if I will be deported?

A: Yes, you could be deported because having a sexual relationship outside marriage is illegal and punishable by law, according to Article 356 of Federal Law No 3 for 1987, which states that a person involved in a consensual sexual relationship is to be sentenced to not less than a year in jail, followed by deportation for expatriates. If one of the people in the relationship is less than 14 years old, even if they give consent, the law considers the sex to be by force. However, the law gives the authority to judges to also impose immediate deportation without a prison term for those convicted of having consensual sex, although this is at the judge’s discretion based on the facts presented in court. It should be noted that the law is applicable on both parties, even if she was the one who lodged the complaint.

Q: I am a 34-year-old mother of two who works in Abu Dhabi. Two months ago, a car hit me and I needed an operation on my left leg to put steel in to support the bone. The driver of the other vehicle paid a Dh2,000 fine and the case was closed. According to the police report, it was all his fault so now I have filed a civil case against him. I want to know what my rights are regarding compensation and how long it will take, because I want to go back to my home country. Do I need to get a lawyer?

A: The civil court will assign a committee to evaluate the damages in each case, and in your case it will be a medical committee that will look at the medical report and then submit its own report to court that judges will use to determine the amount of compensation they believe you deserve. You have to submit the medical report(s) and receipts for anything related to the injury that you have paid for yourself. It’s worth noting that the law gives you the right to file a case against the driver and also against the insurance company. If the car was owned by a person different to the man driving, you can also file a case against the owner. Certainly you should hire a lawyer to follow up on your case but your presence will also be needed at certain stages, such as when the medical committee needs to examine your injuries. Each case is different and it is not my place to determine an exact period of time, but I would assume that it may take up to two years.

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